


Eclipse

by Tetsuu_writes



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Attempted Murder, Awkward First Times, Blood and Violence, Bombs, Disabilities, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Established Relationship, Foul Language, Light Smut, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Panic Attacks, Parenting of all kinds, Polyamorous Character, Sharing a Bath, Sharing a Bed, Sign Language, Stabbing, homoerotic fighting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:28:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 68,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27438856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tetsuu_writes/pseuds/Tetsuu_writes
Summary: "Can I be honest with you?", Sakusa asked all of a sudden, breaking a comfortable silence."Course.""I'm scared.""What are you scared of?", Atsumu asked a few moments later, cracking one eye open."I'm scared to lose everything I have, even though I'm not sure I've ever had anything at all…", he couldn't read his expression at all and it freaked Sakusa out to no end, but he stayed calm; at least on the surface. He knew for a fact that Atsumu would never hurt him, not physically. Not like me meant it."Atsumu. I'm scared."OrThe long ass soulmate/magic/royalty AU the SakuAtsu nation has been waiting for (hopefully). There are a lot more ships and characters, but the ones I tagged are most frequent!!The fic is completed, so no fear of me just not updating anymore!! Updates will be once a week and I'm really looking foward to feedback, theories and comments!!
Relationships: Fukunaga Shouhei/Kozume Kenma/Yamamoto Taketora, Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei, Kuroo Tetsurou/Yaku Morisuke, Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi, Miya Osamu/Suna Rintarou, Various Others - Relationship
Comments: 69
Kudos: 70





	1. Calm Before The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for picking my long ass fic up! This is my longest fanfiction so far, so I hope the start is not too dry. Let me know in the comments!! Talk to me y'all it means the world
> 
> Also sorry for any typos, I easily overlook them a lot ;;
> 
> Enjoy!!!

_October 4th_

"Why can't I get this right?" 

Magic wasn't easy. No matter what his mother, his best friend or his teacher told him, for Atsumu magic didn't come naturally. 

For the past hour, the boy had tried a simple transfiguration spell, something that Hinata could do right when he had turned sixteen. That had been two years ago. 

Atsumu didn't know what it was that made him incapable of easy magic, but the fact his teapot wouldn't turn into a key made the growing frustration multiply and could be added to the big pile of 'Too high expectations' and 'Perfectionism', which prevented him from any worthwhile results. 

He was ripped out of his practice, a tick later. "Honey–Atsumu, can you come downstairs for a second?" 

With his wand in hand, Atsumu flinched when he heard his mother calling for him. He read through the teleportation spell once more, but as he attempted it, nothing seemed to happen. Atsumu tried again– and again. Nothing. 

"Honey?", sounded his mother's voice once more, not impatient, but confused.

"Coming! I'm coming…!",yelled Atsumu from his room. He sprinted out of it, almost knocking over the neatly stocked healing crystals in the hall, before he happily jumped down the entire flight of stairs. 

His mother was facing him, but her concentration was on the book floating in front of her. The membrane of yellow magic around the book turned orange as Atsumu made it shut, with great concentration, to get his mom's attention. Finally, she looked up, a smile on her lips.

It was nighttime– already past Atsumu's bedtime, but the sun still shone through the big windows, leaving the wood warm under the wizard's feet. 

"You needed me for something?", he asked bashfully as his mother's sorcery beat Atsumu's with ease, opening the book once more before letting it fly back to the messy table full of other books, ingredients and potions. 

"Yes I– Well, I wanted to see how you were doing. You–", she paused once more, not as confident in her words the way Atsumu knew it from her,"– Should be sleeping already." 

To that, Atsumu sighed deeply. 

Their home was located on the west side of the kingdom. The east was populated by moon wizards. On their side of the city the eternal night stretched over everything they called their own. On the west– Atsumu's home– however, the sun never went down. Sun witches and wizards used the sun as their primal source of energy; with it, they never ran out of power and as did the moon wizards with their own.

Whenever he could feel the rush of power in his gut increasing, Atsumu would get a little nauseous; it happened each time he used magic. It was a lot to take in and was never easy for any wizard, but he was different. Feeling power well up within oneself and learning to control it, that's what they got taught in magic school, but Atsumu was nothing if not a terrible student. On more than one occasion, he puked on his teacher's shoes. It was embarrassing to say the least.

His mother rose from her magic circle with her staff at hand and smiled at her son, warm and bright, like the rays of the sun. As she left the circle, the glowing of it subdued, as if on standby. The heels of her shoes made pleasant noises on the wooden ground with each step she took as she made her way over to pat her son's head. The same noise was heard when the staff came in contact with the floor, to steady her stance, as the witch leaned on it.

Amalia Miya was an important, powerful witch in their kingdom; well, one side of it. Her hair was a bright blonde color and fell over her shoulders messily. 

She was called the sun of the west. Atsumu had no idea why, but his mother would never tell him. 

A warm aura surrounded her person and she examined the skin on her son's forearm. She rubbed it with her thumb gently, eyebrows furrowed deeply.

As wizards and witches, to find out what source of primal energy they need to harness to be able to use sorcery at its best, they get markings. It is an old ritual, as old as magic itself and couldn't be explained with knowledge alone. The only markings heard of were the marking of the summer child and the marking of the darkest night– meaning sun and moon.

Markings usually took some time to appear, but it had almost been two years for the boy and the marking should be there by now. It was going to be Atsumu's day of arrival in a few hours, after all. Meaning, it was time for the marking to be embedded into his skin forever and for him to leave, Amalia thought. _But is he ready to face the inevitable?_

Amalia worried. In his current state, he wasn't able to protect anyone– let alone himself. 

"I'm not tired", he mumbled, but quickly changed the subject to something more of interest to him. "Do you think I'll be a sun wizard, too? Oh, I so wanna be a sun wizard and practice full magic with my own staff!! I don't wanna be a moon wizard, they're all weird and bad and their eyes are so _creepy_ ", Atsumu exclaimed, even though he has never had the chance to meet a moon wizard. His mother chuckled, struggling to reach him when she tried kissing his forehead. The boy, a bit taller than her, even with her high boots on, leaned down so Amalia could reach. 

"First of all, it's sorcery. And not all moon wizards are bad, dear. The moon is beautiful and so are they. You know, in my time–" 

"Yes, yes, I know. _Everything was better before we were divided in sun and moon and everything was worse after the war! And moon wizards are sooo beautiful and sooooo sexy!_ I get it, mom, but, look. After the war and the new rules, there hasn't been any war for, like, 18 years… I'm just saying that change isn't always bad", her son interrupted, in a mocking high–pitched voice to mimic his mother's soothing one. Her face changed from a slightly shocked expression into a grin. Crossing her arms, she put her weight on one of her legs and cocked an eyebrow at Atsumu, all motherly.

"And all _I'm_ saying is that those 'new rules' of not being able to even _see_ moon wizards at all, will destroy your view on them and it already has, so point proven. And I don't sound like that!!", she laughed, pinching her son's cheeks painfully, making him yell out in pain and laugh.

Amalia was known for her powerful sorcery and magic that was characteristic for sun witches and wizards. She had been the first one to fight with a staff instead of a wand in her time. Or, as Atsumu assumed, because staffs were so hard to acquire, his mom had been the first one in _a long time_ to get one at all. How she did it, not even Amalia knew. 

Wizards and sorcerers were different from one another in many ways, but throughout history all kinds of sorcerers, warlocks and wizards had lived together, indifferent about their differences, hence creating offspring which not only had one of these abilities, but two or even all three. Not only would one be able to learn magic from books, spells and learning, but also seek their powers from within, creating their own unique kind of magic, with the source of energy being the sun or moon. At least in Atsumu's case. 

For Atsumu, using a wand was difficult, it always had been. Remembering spells was difficult. The whole 'learning to do magic' was too difficult for him. To his advantage, he was relatively good at his own sorcery, without knowing which his primal source was. It had less to do with spells and more with getting what he wanted with a snap of his fingers and he had always been impatient– a side effect of magical abilities. A little concentration wouldn't keep him away from what he wanted, but for the past 2 years he had been forced to learn wand magic. School work and whatnot. 

Hand magic in general was a lot easier to cast for him. Which was also the reason why Atsumu wanted a staff. His mother, however, would never tell him where she got if from, no matter how often he would ask her. Atsumu couldn't imagine that she forgot how she earned her staff, but after a while he had given it a rest and stopped asking holes into her. 

What she did tell him was using a magical wand had been traditional and in her time and age, while staffs were frowned upon for being hard to handle and hard to come by. In their opinion, it put the full wizards at a disadvantage, so they banned the usage of staffs all together. But Amalia had more troubles with her wand than a staff. Her staff was unique, just like her and had a big aquamarine gem on its top, which was hugged by the wood in a beautiful pattern. 

Said staff was held under Atsumu's nose and he stared down at it longingly before he looked back at his mother. 

"Now it's time for bed, you don't wanna be too tired to have enough power for your health spell to help when your marking is conjured up tomorrow!", Amalia rushed, shushing Atsumu back into the hall. "I have to get this magic circle done, sweetheart. It's important I do not get disturbed by you again, you hear me young man?" 

"What if I bleed?" 

Amalia sighed deeply and let out a tiny laugh at the dryness in his words, a beautiful smile spreading on her lips. She stepped over to him, taking his big hands in her rather tiny ones. 

"Honey, we have been over this! If you bleed, you don't need my help anymore! Now, sweetie, go to bed. I love you." 

"Love you, too, mom", Atsumu smiled, kissing his mother's cheek before walking off to his room. 

His mom made these circles once in a while and usually talked to some people with their help; similar to what mortals would call a phone. Atsumu could swear she had once talked with creatures from another completely different kingdom, but whenever he asked her about anything of the sorts, she brushed it off, since it was kind of very illegal. He didn't even understand how she got away with it, but then again, Amalia was powerful. Atsumu eventually gave up on knowing who she was talking to, even though it still bothered him quite a bit. 

The wizards on the side of the sun, who were his age, all didn't know anything besides the sun parts of their kingdom. They had never seen anything besides sunshine and daylight and only knew about rain and snow from books. Hell, they didn't even know a single thing about any other land or kingdom surrounding them, even though Atsumu was sure there were plenty of them, taking into account that his mother probably had contact with them. Most of the other parents, who had been around during the war, knew how the land was like united, but strangely enough, none of them had ever talked about it. The only adult he knew, who even told him a tale of her slaying a beast that looked just like herself, was Hinata's mother. What this meant Atsumu did not know, but the shivers he got from thinking about how a creature looking exactly like him would try to hurt Atsumu were great. 

What was bothering him even more was the fact that all around them were many other kingdoms he had no chance to learn about or to ever lay eyes on. Knowing them would be one thing, but Atsumu wanted to see all of it.

About nineteen or twenty years ago, the kingdom built a strong barrier around itself. No one was allowed to leave and no one was allowed to enter. He remembered Hinata's mother telling him she was glad to have the same marking as Amalia, because otherwise they would have been separated. The moon wizards moved to the east and the sun wizards had to live on the west side. 

Atsumu thought it strange not knowing what was out there.

There were a few more things on his mind like his marking, his lack of skill when it came to wand magic and more, but like every night, he brushed it off. It could wait. It was not like he'll need to master it all by tomorrow. 

The boy got ready, laying out his clothes for the next day and jumped into bed after brushing his teeth and washing his face. The lump of excitement in his stomach was grumbling, complaining to Atsumu about anything and everything negative there was, has been or ever will be. But there was nothing that could have warned him for what awaited him the next day. 

His whole life long his mom had been preparing him to learn healing charms, effects of gems, medical herb making, healing magic and spell practice. Compared to her ability, he ended up being terrible at it all. Theory he knew inside out, but the practical part was not his best suit. It wasn't the worst, since his hand magic was extremely advanced for someone who is not connected to primal energy. Having been the only thing he was able to do ever since he was ten, made some things second nature to him. Sadly, teleportation wasn't one of them, yet. 

Young wizards tend to not be in control of their powers, because they are constantly changing and extremely unpredictable, especially after getting their marking. Even if his mom was a powerful and great teacher, Atsumu just wasn't the best student, no matter how hard he tried. It was frustrating to always think of oneself as a complete, utter disappointment. He unfortunately got distracted quite easily, too. Atsumu was behind in a few of his classes in school, mostly just below average, but his ambition and fascination kept him going. Amalia had told him a million times before that he'll be fine, even if his magic was weaker than the magic of his classmates. Especially Hinata's. 

_Mom looooves Hinata,_ Atsumu sighed into his pillow, tossing and turning at the pain those thoughts inflicted on his head and stomach. Even though it was her job as parents, loving and accepting his friends.

Hinata Shouyou was his closest (and only) friend in school. He was cute, short and skilled– most of the time. His sun marking had appeared the second he had turned sixteen. Even though normally a marking would take from the sixteenth up to the eighteenth day of arrival to appear, Hinata's arm shone bright the second he was sixteen, thus making Atsumu very late. It was said that witches and wizards who got their markings early on would be more powerful than others, but his mom told him it wasn't entirely true, since she was an extraordinary witch, but had gotten hers when she was seventeen. If what she said really wasn't true, then Hinata might be able to become even better than her. And if that wasn't the least bit depressing, then Atsumu didn't know what was. 

His mind wandered as he tried to fall asleep. Staring up at his self made dream catcher he remembered how his mom often told Atsumu stories about how he was when he was a baby; well, a fox. 

Witches do not possess wombs in their bodies and sex isn't something used to reproduce as first priority. If one wishes for children while having sex, those will appear in no relation to the sexual intercourse. Koitus alone can't bring children and only if the witch or wizard is truly ready, the wish for a child will be granted. And so when a wizard or witch feels it is time for a child of their own, they simply wish upon the spirits Sawa, Emi and Tetsu and a young animal will appear at their front door. They can be confused for familiars easily, since those just appear out of nowhere, too. To separate which one it is, one has to listen and watch carefully. Familiars gain the ability to talk early on, while children take more time to learn how to speak. One has to wait a year to see how it develops, before any of them even start talking. At the age of eighteen, most of the remaining animal features are gone all the way. In some cases like Atsumu's certain features just won't leave.

Atsumu had been found as a fox cub by his mother. The older he grew, the more human features came to be and the animalistic ones slowly disappeared. However, his canines just didn't want to go away, even if his day of arrival was in a few hours.

Wizards and witches ending up resembling their former animals is also only half true and mostly used as insult and mobbing material. Wizards and witches do resemble their parents the most, no matter what, which is something like the marking that has been this way for millennia, and no one questions it anymore.

Assuming that he didn't have another parent, Atsumu didn't ask his mom if she had a partner even once, since the wish for a child is for everyone without a needed relationship. Besides, she would have mentioned it. Atsumu knew she wouldn't keep anything from him, if it didn't have the potential to hurt him in the end.

Amalia told him stories about him nibbling the couch and him shedding fur all over the place. Amalia told him how whiny he was when his teeth grew in and how every sneeze or burp would shoot a beam of fire around the house. How his favorite food always had been fatty tuna and the way he ravished his plate when Amalia served it.

The story she most often told Atsumu, though, was the one where Hinata and him went outside to play together. It was also the story Atsumu liked to hear the most.

They were running around outside and Hinata was very fast, so of course Atsumu wanted to keep up. He ran and ran and fell to the rough concrete. Atsumu came crying to the door, showing his mom his scraped knee. Crying next to him was Hinata, apologizing a billion times. Blood was dripping down Atsumu's leg and he cried out "Beeding, beeding!", with his undeveloped voice. His mom told him about how she healed the wound with a simple spell and how Atsumu from there on out wasn't scared to get hurt anymore. 

'It was really bad, you know!", she had told him even if it was funny. 

'When you broke your arm, you came running to me without even crying! You were so sure I would heal you that you completely threw your survival instincts out of the window!' 

And it was true. Atsumu knew that with his mom by his side, no injury would stop him, ever. He was really glad to have her in his life. Amalia and Hinata were all he had, after all.

Before he went to sleep, he read through the spell that would keep him stable while his marking appeared. 

However much of a blessing his marking would be, the process of getting it was sudden and quite painful. Atsumu had asked Hinata many times how it felt, but all the redhead knew to answer was that it hurt like hell.

The spell, he knew by heart already, but looking at the words spelled out in front of him was to remind himself of how real this situation really was. And he got scared. Atsumu feared every possible outcome where he wouldn't be a sun wizard like his mother, even though he was absolutely sure he felt connected to the sun.

He looked out of his window, right into the sun, but it didn't hurt. It felt wrong, the source that was so close to him felt so much further away. 

His marking would appear tomorrow, if he wanted it to or not.


	2. Burn Marks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Hinata Shouyo, Atsumu's best (and only) friend as the guy who helps out in a pinch!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pay close attention to my hints ;)

_ October 5th  _

_ Atsumu Miya's day of arrival _

Atsumu hardly slept the night and woke up feeling sleepy and a bit sore. His back muscles were aching when he sat up, grumbling. He stretched his limbs, bumping his hand against his dream catcher softly and making it twirl. The boy smiled up at it, thanking it silently for no nightmares before he put on his favorite outfit, that lay on top of his chair.

It was normal for most adults to wear more traditional robes while the younger generation just mixed up whatever they deemed necessary and cool; mostly comfortable with many pockets. Which is why Atsumu's favorite outfit consisted of many belts, with a lot of space to store potions and gemstones beside other things, around poofy clothes accenting his small waist. 

He wore a form fitting, see through turtleneck, layered with another cropped shirt on top. The main belt was packed with a few potions, mostly elemental magic and helpful things like hypnotic powder or amnesia syrup his mom had made. As he put on his thigh belts and high boots and stuck his wand on the outside of his thigh, he glimpsed outside his window, seeing Hinata waiting for him and waving like a maniac. Atsumu jumped up, checking to see if anything was amiss in his room. He supposed he didn't need to bring healing crystals or anything else to school. What for, anyway? His marking would burn despite any healing.

He yelled a quick,"Bye Mom!", before he left the house. Not bothering to wait for a reply, knowing she was most probably busy with her familiar, he grabbed his long robe, pulling it on. After one last glance around the room full of gizmos and magic gadgets, he was greeted by an orange ball of fluff standing on his lawn. He missed the small message in the kitchen.

Hinata grinned wide as Atsumu walked out the door, embracing him in a bone crushing hug, shaking him from left to right. The smaller boy ignored the way Atsumu struggled against his grip. He was stronger than he looked, that was for sure.

"Happy day of arrival, 'Tsumu!!! Is it there yet, where is it??"

Hinata let go of the blonde quickly and grabbed his arm, looking for the magic marking, which had yet to appear. His smile dropped and he pouted upon seeing no marking whatsoever. 

"Oh…" 

Hinata felt bad for Atsumu, since he had gotten his sun marking pretty early on. On top of that, his family was quite ordinary, completely different from the Miyas. They might have fought side by side during the war, but they didn't make a name for themselves like Amalia had. It wasn't like Atsumu had made him feel bad about it, ever. It was quite the opposite; Atsumu was happy Hinata already had his marking. But being empathetic as Hinata was, he didn't brag much and tried to avoid the subject and, even if he didn't show it, Atsumu was grateful for that. He wouldn't mind, either way. Hinata was his best friend, nothing would ever change that. 

"Ah, no, not yet. It might happen at school later, so let's keep our eyes peeled. But I'm really nervous! What if I'm not a sun wizard like my mom? Could you imagine what would happen if I was a moon wizard? I don't know anything about them, at all! I just–" 

Hinata quickly interrupted his best friend, squeezing his shoulders comfortingly as he looked into Atsumu's surprised eyes with light amusement, but mostly just genuine support. The smile he shot up at Atsumu was like a beam of light and Atsumu was just  _ almost _ blinded.

Hinata was just special. He shined exceptionally bright, almost on the same level as Amalia and far more than Atsumu ever would. He was the human embodiment of the sun, quite literally. It was a little depressing to think you can never be as good as your own mother, who even when everyone expected him to be amazing, was gentle and understanding about it. It made no sense to him, but not many things ever did.

Another thing the young redhead was known for, besides flunging about 80% of his tests, was using magic instinctively. This was great for battles, but less useful with most tests. He was, much like Atsumu, a lot better at sorcery. Quite frankly, Hinata was lacking booksmarts, but his raw skills and talent made up for it.

"Whatever it's gonna be, you'll do amazing. Let's get to class, alright?" Not to mention Hinata was really good at giving pep talks. 

With the tiniest bit of hesitation, Atsumu nodded, licking his lips as he watched Hinata bounce, running off to get a head start. He didn't feel like running, so he let his eyes follow Hinata's movements, smiling to himself. While Hinata was playing around with his wand, walking at least 4 meters in front, Atsumu took in the beautiful scenery he got to see everyday. 

Wizards and witches alike, walking around in their robes and gowns followed by familiars. Each one of them had their own gemstone, gifted to them at the same time as they received their marking. Majority of these stones were see–through and plain. Just a handful were tinted in all the bright colors of the rainbow. Embroidered into a piece of clothing or made into an accessoire such as earrings were the place most wizards would keep their gemstones from the marking. As for the younger generation, most of the stones, much like Hinatas, were colorless on a necklace, because this was how they appeared. 

Still, even with every wizard and witch getting their own gem, no one knew what they were for or questioned them. Not even his mother seemed to understand what exactly these stones had in common, but there was something she wasn't telling him. They just thought of them as presents for becoming a full wizard. When or why the stones change color all of a sudden was also a mystery no one cared to think about, except for Atsumu. At least, this is what he believed. 

Whenever he heard of anyone's gem changing color, they disappeared a day after.

If he had one of them for his own, he might be able to study its behavior or see where they went. All he wanted was more knowledge about the past, other wizards, those stones. Getting his own marking would be a good start.

_ Maybe later _ , he thought. 

Before, he had always tried to study Hinata's necklace, but after two years, nothing had changed in the slightest.

Looking around the place he called home was sometimes strange and felt odd– not quite right. Almost all of the wizards living here had bright hair and tanned skin, which was pretty normal. The constant sun gave most of them, about 70%, freckles, too. Atsumu was one of the few born with dark hair and only very few freckles. All sun wizards had either blonde, white or orange hair, which was one more reason for Atsumu to doubt his being a sun wizard. Even though his fur had been orange as a cub, his natural hair color was black. On top of that it was a bad omen. As someone who was expected to be a sun wizard to not have the right features of one was bad news, since sun and moon wizards apparently didn't really get along really well. If he was no sun wizard, he was a moon wizard and they would separate him from Amalia. 

To fit in, Atsumu dyed his hair blonde with his mother's help, but it ended up having the color of apple juice. Kind of orange–y, kind of golden. It was easy to tell it wasn't his real hair, even more so due to his black roots and undercut, but it mostly did the trick.

Rumor has it, the wizards on the moon side all had dark hair and 'blind eyes', but Atsumu wasn't quite sure about it or what it even meant, since he never met any of them. Atsumu wanted to see it for himself before he would believe any rumors. It was just rumors after all. He couldn't deny that he was at least a tiny bit curious about their appearance, even more so every time his mom talked about them as if they were heavenly beings.

Everyone but her seemed to hate moon wizards, for a good reason.

When they arrived at school, the two boys went straight to their classroom. It was a school like any other school; big and boring. Empty halls stretched alongside all the rooms. And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, life just had its ways of punching you in the stomach with a smile. Just, sometimes, the effect of the pain kicked in too late, thanks to adrenaline.

So when their teacher started with the same thing they had the students recite every single day, Atsumu felt nauseous. The question felt icky, more than usual.

"So! Can anyone tell me how our land was founded and why? Atsumu, you?" 

"Ah… Uhm, something about the moon and uhhh..– I don't know, Sir", Atsumu lied plainly. He knew the story inside out, but was in no mood for false history, or what he assumed was false. It was just too boring and his arm was starting to tingle at the worst time possible.

The teacher sighed heavily, looking around to see Hinata raising his hand violently. He was like these annoying kids that knew everything, but Atsumu smiled a little. His smart little sunshine– Well, only if he wanted to. The two of them had been friends for forever. Their mothers had been friends during the war before the seperation when they were in their early twenties, so Atsumu and Hinata had always had each other as playmates. 

"Yes, Hinata", the teacher sighed once more. He rubbed his wrinkly face and sat down, getting ready to listen.

"A war broke out, because evil moon wizards tried to take all the power of the primal energy for themselves! The king cast a spell that divided our land, so us sun wizards could live in peace!" 

At least, that is what they made them believe. It sounded like a load of bullshit to Atsumu, considering his mother made sure his attitude towards moon wizards was positive. She always said they were mysterious and beautiful. 

_ How would I know if we aren't even allowed to meet one, for educational reasons at least,  _ thought Atsumu, before the tingling in his arm got too intense to ignore anymore. 

All attention was guided to him after Hinata finished talking about how bad moon wizards were and how they probably have fangs and claws to hurt sun wizards. 

Atsumu yelped, holding his arm in pain as he almost toppled over on his chair. He completely forgot the spell, but it might have been too late already. The marking was already being burned into his skin like a hot, unpleasant tattoo. Everyone else could see Atsumu feeling unwell in his attempt not to make a sound; they knew his pain, but even so kept on staring rudely. He was the last one in their class to get his marking, so they were obviously interested, but Atsumu could live without them making him feel even worse. The teacher shushed the students, waiting for Atsumu to finish in anticipation. 

Atsumu concentrated on his powers and felt his arm burn even more, as he sped up the process. He grunted a little, sweating the tiniest bit as the symbol was burned into his skin, to forever stay there. He felt the aura of a necklace around him before he saw it appear out of thin air and he held it to his chest, before he finished. The marking turned from a glaring red to solid black. 

What he saw on his arm, wasn't what he was hoping for. 

"'Tsumu!! Show me!", yelled Hinata excitedly. He jumped over his desk, speed–walking up to Atsumu. Reflexively, Atsumu put his hand over the marking and looked around, biting back a shout.

The students sitting in close proximity to him gasped. Out of breath he tried to think of a way to escape all the eyes that were glaring holes into him. It hurt more than he had expected, but he didn't care at that moment. No one could see this, this was wrong. 

He looked at Hinata in shock, before he noticed the teachers eyes on him, quietly watching the scene unfold in front of them. The teacher came to stand next to Hinata and smiled. It was too wide and not genuine enough, so Atsumu backed up as much as he could while he sat in his chair. It slid over the wooden floor and made an agonizing, disgusting sound.

"I–I.. Hinata, can I–I… I need s–some air–", Atsumu choked, covering his arm with his sleeve and robe, just in case. The boy grabbed Hinata by his hand and ran out of the classroom at top speed. Ignoring Hinata's pleas, Atsumu wanted to make sure to have a big distance between them and the other wizards. Having them close made him sick to the stomach.

"What … is wrong, Atsumu?"

Once they stopped, both a panting mess, Hinata looked up at Atsumu with a worried expression. Atsumu only faced the ground as he held out his arm for the other boy to look at himself. He hesitated, but brushed away the long, dangling sleeve to take a look at the marking. Gasping, Hinata took a step back, covering his mouth with both hands.

"You're...–" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think his marking is!! I'm really curious about what you think!!!  
> In the next chapter I'll be introducing two new characters:  
> Someone who you probably thought would live in the same household as Atsumu hehe and someone I would pay close attention to if I were you.
> 
> For Sakusa y'all will have to wait a little longer, but I assure it will be worth it :3


	3. Not A Summer Child, Nor The Darkest Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first meeting with the other side.

_ October 5th _

The symbol on Atsumus forearm wasn't a sun, nor a moon. 

The symbol showed a sun, flaming and bright, but it was partly covered by a crescent moon. An eclipse. 

The whole marking was cut off in the middle, only a half sun and a half crescent moon. One half of an eclipse marking.

"'Tsumu… Let's go see your mom, okay? It's– it's gonna be fine." 

Everything before Atsumu's eyes started spinning, his knees got weak. He held onto Hinata, searched his face for anything, something that would tell him what was going on and even though Hinata tried to be brave and show no sign of worry in his smile, his eyebrows were knitted, his smile lopsided. Atsumu knew what that meant and it wasn't good. Hinata was a good friend for trying to make Atsumu feel better, but both of them had no idea what was happening, what was wrong with Atsumu's marking and what they should do. It was scary, terrifying even.

"Yeah… yeah."

The door to the small Miya house stood open wide when Hinata and Atsumu walked over the lawn. Stepping in, the boys discovered the rooms were messed up, not at all like Atsumu had left them, with book pages and potions on the ground, broken glass and stains of a fire. It still smelled like burned wood, so it couldn't have been too long ago. 

Amalias staff was on the floor, the crystal on its top destroyed into splitters next to the summoning circle on the floor. It was smudged, the work of petite hands destroyed. Not even Amalia's familiar Fang was in sight.

Atsumu warily made his way into the livingroom and spotted the walls covered in blasts. Next to it, there were a few blood stains. Atsumu was crawling in his skin. 

"There was a fight… ", Hinata spoke the words Atsumu was thinking, but just couldn't get himself to say out loud. 

Before either of them could examine the chaos further to even comprehend the situation, another blast shot right next to Atsumu's face into the wall, knocking down baby pictures of him. He couldn't move immediately, the shock freezing him in place without so much as making a peep. While Hinata jumped and shoved Atsumu to the ground to duck behind the couch, Atsumu followed the direction of the shot with his eyes. Those were–

"Guards?!", Hinata yelled in disbelief, "Why are they attacking us?!" 

Atsumu racked his mind, adrenaline kicking in like a badly mixed potion blowing up in his face. The only plausible explanation was thrown into the room before he could make sense of it. The staff on the floor, the evidence of a fight, the guard attacking? There was no doubt.

"Shouyou, they– where is my mom they– must– must've taken her and now they want  _ me, _ but why me? I'm–", Atsumu stopped himself, running his hands through his hair, sticking out his tongue in thought. His sleeve rolled down and two pairs of eyes fell onto Atsumu's mark. A second later their eyes met yet again.

"Oooh, that's probably not good." 

"I don't mean to alarm you but I don't think they were after your mom, really. Or after me, for that matter", Hinata said, gesturing to the symbol on the other's arm. For a second both of them were quiet, trying to think of a reason, an explanation, until another big blast shot a hole right through the cushions, leaving a big hole between the boys faces. They were lucky to still have their eyebrows after that shot.

" **_I'm not alarmed at all. What do you mean_ ** ?!", yelled Atsumu before grabbing his wand from his thigh belt. A second later, he put it right back. It was useless in his hands.

"Atsumu Miya, please come with us." 

The guard's voice was loud and clear. It scared Atsumu, because it meant he was close; too close.

"Listen, they are clearly after you so I'll hold him off and you just– just run away as far as you can, okay!? Go to my house! Wait no, that's a bad idea, scratch that. Don't go to my house! Just– run okay?"

Hinata gave Atsumu a fleeting hug before he jumped over the couch, looking at the guard innocently. He let his wand appear out of thin air with magic and held the tip on it to his lip, as if in thought.

"Well, hello there, Sir. Is it not a beautiful day outside? The sun is shining! A very good opportunity to practice shooting fireballs somewhere that isn't– .. I don't know, you know… a house?" 

Hinata was trembling terribly and unfortunately not good at hiding it. Atsumu knew his respect for the king's guards and Atsumu's heart broke when Hinata didn't give him any other chance than to escape without him. Sure Hinata could teleport, but he didn't have any idea where Atsumu would be running off to. Only the best sorcerers could track beings with their magic without exhausting themselves to complete fatigue.

"Where is Atsumu Miya?", the guard asked Hinata in a low, emotionless voice. The red head tried to lean on some invisible furniture and almost tripped, making the guard flinch in a movement that indicated he would have caught Hinata if he had fallen.

_ That's strange… _ thought Atsumu, now focusing on the guards movements even more. His hair was dark and spiky and he didn't seem as dangerous as his voice made him sound. 

Atsumu had to just think. Of course he didn't know whether the guard would hurt Hinata or not, but he couldn't just guess wildly and risk his best friend's life like that. He had no idea what the guards were capable of or what they would do with Hinata. The guard clearly knew where to find Atsumu, so finding Hinata's home should be just as easy. Was it okay to let Hinata have his way and be so selfish? He wasn't any better than him, he couldn't be worth more than another person's life, Atsumu couldn't live with himself being treated like something 'better'. 

"Oh. Well, you might be right. But I need to find Atsumu Miya. Do you know where he is by any chance?", the guard's voice was suddenly gentle.

Face scrunching up, Atsumu was discombobulated. If he attacked them, he must have seen Atsumu jump away, right? There was no way he didn't see it. 

"Uh, N–No! She– I mean, he–! He just.. uhm left! He likes to  _ leave  _ and I always tell him he should  _ leave as quickly as possible!!"  _

Hinata's voice shifted and Atsumu understood he was being addressed. He curled into himself, cursing his situation.

"Oh. Do you know where he went?", asked the guard. He seemed utterly clueless to all of his surroundings. Did he even know what he was doing? 

"Uhm, I d–don't know but I hope it's very …  _ very  _ far  _ away! Right now!"  _

The guard looked around and Atsumu took his chance, quickly making a run for the back door. As if by some unknown force, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes fell on his mother's staff. Daring a glance to Hinata, Atsumu saw him stretching to shield the guards eyes and force himself into his field of vision to prevent him from seeing Atsumu. Said boy quickly grabbed the staff and ran out through the back door. His mind was blank, his arm still hurt and he thought he might pass out any second. The wind in his eyes made tears well up, but he didn't stop. His knees were shaking, but he couldn't stop. If he stopped now, leaving Hinata behind would have been for nothing. The guard would get him and take them both away, no. 

Atsumu kept running.

On his way Atsumu passed many other wizards. A few familiars here and there made him hastily yell "I'm sorry!" when he stumbled into them. Looking around, less and less people surrounded him the further he ran east until he was all alone.

His legs felt numb when he flopped down into the soft grass of someone's lawn after running for what felt like an eternity. He took a second to catch his breath and glanced up to see the wall that divided them from the moon wizards. It was gigantic, massive. There was no end to it, no matter which way he looked.

Upon examining the wall, his ears suddenly rang in alarm. Atsumu screamed, holding his head as he shook it violently to get the ringing noise to go away. It hurt, felt like it was worming through his brain. As fast as it came, it disappeared again. It only lasted for about 10 seconds, but the two guards standing before the gate that led to the other side, spotted him. 

_ I ran that far…? Well, while I'm here, might as well try this.. _

Gathering his energy to even stand up, Atsumu tripped over to the two men dressed in extremely old fashioned robes and armor. He hid his marking and grabbed one of them by the arm, not hesitating to violently shake the man as he started yelling.

"I found the boy, but he attacked me!! He ran west! Go get him!!" 

The guards exchanged glances and Atsumu almost thought he was done for, at the puzzled expression they wore, but a second later the guards ran to where his finger was pointed, without question. He slapped the dust from his knees and chuckled softly. 

"Well, that was easy...", he grinned as he made his way to the magical gate after going back to the grass to grab his mother's staff. He could faintly see the other side through the barrier, but it was really dark, even through the sheer material that was the green goo of the gate. Strangely enough, it looked like it was moving around, constantly in motion.

More importantly, though, it felt like he was looking into a mirror. He was creeped out, watching his face scrunching up in confusion. He reached out, but before he could touch the barrier, he heard Hinata's voice yelling for him in alarm. It quickly became louder and Atsumu turned around in order to catch Hinata in his arms and prevent him getting hurt. What he didn't prepare for was Hinata being a lot faster than expected, which he really should have expected, and they both crashed through the gooey consistency of the green barrier. 

"Hinata! Would you– … Oh, no, Hinata! We went through the portal thingy!! God, it's so dark in here, who turned off the sun?? … And why did I land so softly?", Atsumu blabbered, trying to steady himself to no avail. 

He reached out to find his mother's staff and sighed in relief when he grabbed a hold of it. When he heard a belated groan from underneath him, he was startled so bad he yelled like a little kid and punched about himself, hitting Hinata by accident who let out a tiny  _ oof _ . The smaller one yelped in pain seconds later, struggling on top of Atsumu and rolling off of him.

"That is because you landed on  _ me" _ , wheezed a boy underneath him, coughing and making Atsumu wobble with the movement. 

The stranger, whom the voice belonged to, shoved Atsumu off with a thud and stood up, ruffling his dark hair. Or at least Atsumu thought it was. Everything was dark. 

Next to Atsumu, Hinata was with his face in the dirt, pouting. When the other met Atsumus eyes, which slowly started adjusting to the darkness surrounding them, both gasped at the same time, staring at each other like it was some kind of contest. 

When Hinata yelled out while pulling a stick out of his bright hair, their attention was on him in an instant. After Hinata finished dusting off his robe and looked at the other two, he almost choked on his own spit. His eyes might hadn't adjusted all the way yet, but light was coming through the barrier enough to make out a few details _._ Hinata took a step to the side and slapped his hand over his mouth with so much force it stinged a little. The two boys watched him as he repeatedly blinked and pinched himself, rubbing his eyes to find out what he was seeing was the real thing. 

"What is he doing…?", the boy asked quietly, as to not disturb Hinata in his mild panic. With his eyes on the ginger, he leaned over to Atsumu a bit, but he only shrugged and looked back to the stranger after he got up. Atsumu had to make a double take himself. With the only light source being the full moon overhead and the barrier, it wasn't easy to make out all the details, but it was hardly needed.

While the dark haired guy was focused on Hinata rubbing his eyes and looking between the two, Atsumu finally understood why he did it. He chuckled to himself, laughing at the appropriate reaction. 

Not only did the boy look like him, he was also a moon wizard. 

"Dude… You look just like me! I'm just a little more handsome, no offense", smiled Atsumu. He held out his hand and watched the other boy, who had the exact same face as him, flinch at the late realization. He didn't shake Atsumus hand, so he had to bury it in his pocket embarrassedly.  _ Good start. Yeah.  _

"... We literally have the same face, how are you more good looking than me? Also, why'd you just burst through the portal–… you're both so.. glowy… – Oh no", the boy stopped in his tracks and quickly grabbed his wand before he continued. 

"I'm Osamu and I don't know how you got here and what you are trying to do, but I'm kinda on the run. So, if you would let me through, that would be wonderful." 

Osamu's tone was sarcastic and annoyed but Atsumu had stopped listening after the first sentence to look around. Everything was engulfed in darkness, what made Hinata and him stand out like a sore thumb. The two of them were giving off an orange glow. He was so engrossed in everything, he didn't notice Osamu covering him with a cape that hid his luminous skin. 

"Nice to meet you, Osamu. I'm Atsumu Miiiiiiiii– Wait–", Atsumu began and stopped at the face Osamu was making. He turned to Hinata, pointing his thumb at Atsumu. His face was blank, except for the tiniest tug at his upper lip. A tiny, smug grin.

"Is he always like that?" 

Hinata had quite quickly recovered from his shock and now watched his hands leave trails of glitter in the air as he moved his arms. Osamu closed his eyes with a sigh as he got no response. 

"Fairy," said Osamu to him, but he didn't seem to respond to that. 

Osamu didn't want to believe all sun wizards were idiotic simpletons, like they were told in school, but with this given evidence, it was hard not to. 

"... Okay, anyway! You should go back. I don't know why you are here or why we look the same, but I think I might know the answer aaaand I am not keen on finding out. Also the government is on my tail so– Off you go, I don't wanna babysit some inexperienced sun faires", Osamu urged as he shooed Hinata and Atsumu back into the direction of the portal. When he squashed their faces against it, nothing seemed to happen. 

"Hi, so uh. I'm no expert but–", Hinata spoke, his face flush against the wall,"–that's probably not good."

Osamu ripped them away from the barrier and slammed his hands against it, in an attempt to go through himself. He was met with cement and cursed under his breath. 

"Ok, there's not much time before they find me so just– follow me and keep a low profile, got it?", Osamu hissed, holding his wand to their faces before sticking it in the inside pocket of his robe. He didn't trust them and had no reason to do so, but if they stirred up trouble it would seem to be Osamu's fault. And it was not like he could just go up to the guards or they'd take him in as well. 

"Don't have much of a choice, now, do we?", Atsumu laughed stupidly. He tried to lighten the mood. It didn't really help. Once again he made an embarrassed face, pressing the broken glass of the staff to his forehead. 

_ So not cool, Atsumu. So not cool. _

Hinata took hold of Atsumu's hand and made him perk up. He gave Atsumu a thumbs up and followed Osamu through the darkness. They had heard stories about this place, but to actually be there was a whole different story. It was not as dark as expected, as soon as the eyes got accustomed, hanks to the full moon that was shining. It made Atsumu think a little, trying to make sense of the environment. To his surprise, he seemed to be the only one, since Hinata kept stepping on things and bumping into street lanterns. What surprised Atsumu was the lack of artificial light. Obviously they didn't need the street lamps on the sun side since it was always bright, but they were still there. Not having them running in a place so dark was questionable to him. 

"Where are we even going, Osamu? And how can you  _ see? _ ", asked Hinata quietly, grabbing and pulling the boys robe gently after grabbing the air on the first two tries,"T–This place is scary and so dark… you're not gonna eat us, right? Hey, do you have fangs and claws?"

Atsumu watched Hinata for a few seconds. 

"Hinata, just think. We have the sun that is shining 24/7. They must have the moon instead. If you grow up without light, you won't ever need it. Osamu can see in the dark, he has night vision." 

Atsumu sounded fascinated, looking at the boy who had the same face as him. Glancing back to Hinata he quickly noticed that he was shivering quite a bit and how much stronger his glow was compared to his own. It surprised him, because he didn't seem to  _ feel _ any different. Atsumu brushed his arms up and down and smiled to himself as the shine on his body slowly subdued, leaving only his eyes still glowing, just like Hinata's. 

Osamu turned around in a mix of confusion and disbelief, his eyebrows furrowed, the same way Atsumu's always would. He shook his head wildly for a second, placing his fingers on his temple, eyes closed, as he tried to calm down.

"I won't– Who told you we eat you?", Osamu scoffed, before he kept walking. 

"I was just gonna flee through the portal because there were guards attacking me because– Well, that's not important, but for now we have to get to safety", mumbled the boy. 

After quite a bit of walking the lot of them came to a halt suddenly, bumping into each other at the abrupt stop. They found themselves in the midst of a beautiful garden. It was packed, full of flowers who only bloomed in the darkness. Atsumu only recognized them from books and understood that these flowers were in their full beauty. Orchids, Gladiolus' and the most delicate looking moonflowers. Well, what else would there be. 

"We're here", he explained, before he knocked on the wooden door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can tell me who the guard is you get 100 gummy points. Also, where might they have gone? :0  
> Let me know what you think it is please, I'd really love to know C:


	4. Embrace For Impact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Tsukishima, moon wizard and Sakusa, moon wizard a well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally my main characters are all here!! Fasten your seatbelts, lovelies.

_ October 5th _

It was modern and nice looking as well as welcoming. Not any different from his own house, from the outside. Only now Atsumu noticed that they had walked into a garden that was connected to the backside of a house, not the front. Atsumu stepped forward, tripping over a root and falling face first into the moonflowers. The staff had helped him orientate himself, tapping the ground for obstacles he couldn't make out, but there was only so much he could see in this darkness and the flowers distracted him. At least they smelled good. 

Opening the door and standing there in pyjamas was a tall boy with black hair parted in the middle. His eyes were barely open and his gaze wandered over Osamu first and then to the other two. Before Osamu could say anything to defend himself, the boy crossed his arms, raising one of the thin eyebrows. The vibe he gave off was extremely sassy. 

"What did you do, 'Samu?", he asked, his voice low and threatening. Osamu sighed, his head hanging low.

"I can explain, but for now let us in, Suna. It's important and I have the government on my ass", begged Osamu. For some reason the desperation in his tone made Atsumu grin. He was practically able to  _ smell _ that there was something between them and got some kind of satisfaction from Osamu sending pleading eyes to Suna, it was funny. He also understood that Suna was in power here. Cool. Cool beans. 

Said boy just rolled his eyes and stepped to the side to let the strangers into his house.

_ He must trust Osamu a lot… _ Atsumu thought, getting up from the flowers he just destroyed. Suna frowned down at the petite petals that were squashed and waved his hand in a circular motion, making his wand appear. He gave the flower a little boost of energy until it stood by itself and closed the door behind himself.

The inside was just as dark as the outside. Not a single light or fire was lit and it made Hinata shiver and shrink into himself, hugging his small body with the cape he had gotten from Osamu. The furniture seemed like if light touched it, it would have all beautiful kinds of colors. Since black ruled over this side of the land, everything seemed dull and creepy. It felt like something was lurking behind every turn they took, ready to jump out and end all of them right then and there. 

Suna led them to his room and told them to sit down before he looked Osamu dead in the eye and let the door fall shut. Moonlight hit the boy just right, making his pale skin gleam. He was beautiful in the way he seemed to judge them all. His green eyes were surrounded by black, thick eyelashes. He batted them, moving his slender form to look down on Osamu. 

"Spill or I'll make you sing your words again like last week." 

"But they–", Osamu was about to say as he glanced at the guests, but Suna was faster, conjuring up his wand and pressing the cold onyx at the end of it to Osamu's nose. The other stared down at it in surprise, eyes wide. Suna gave off a faint, green glow. It was intimidating, but could also be described as "mysterious" or "sexy", as Atsumu's mother liked to say. Atsumu didn't get the same feeling from Osamu though. He was more like a helpless, little sheep at the mercy of a big, bad wolf. 

Hinata shrieked and tried to light a fire with the snap of his fingers. The orange light illuminated his face, but distinguished a moment later, leaving only a spark of blue. He tried it again and again until Suna's eyes wandered off of Osamu to linger on Hinata for a brief moment, watching him fail to make a light, until he spoke up.

Sunas voice was low and smooth; extremely pleasant to the ears. "Hey, small one. That won't work. You're on our side, your precious energy source is nowhere to be seen– so stop trying", he scoffed, holding up his wand, twirling it majestically to conjure up a light ball that looked like a small, full moon. He sent it to the ceiling, lighting up the room enough for Hinata to see properly and for his own not to be damaged.

"Ah, thank you!", Hinata smiled, finally able to see properly. He stared Suna and Osamu down, who were blinking to adjust their eyes to the light, sighing in relief. 

"You don't have fangs  _ or  _ blind eyes…", he said, almost disappointed.

Atsumu quietly snapped his fingers to see if his magic was gone, too, but was met with a weak fire in the palm of his hand. Since it wasn't like he was able to do much more than that, he felt a bit of relief. It had an odd color, but it was a flame nonetheless. 

At that, Suna took a step back while Osamu just nodded his head to himself in understanding. He took Suna's hand for a brief moment, squeezing his palm before letting go, to show his arm to him. His marking was the same as Atsumu's, the blonde noticed.  _ How can that be?  _

"This is what I've been trying to tell you, Suna. This is no coincidence, I think this was meant to happen. A–And look, Atsumu, show him your arm!", Osamu explained, a bit too excited. He was absolutely sure that his and Atsumu's markings were identical. They had to be. 

The blonde set down the flame in Hinata's palms, making the other purr in satisfaction, cuddling himself as close to the small, peach colored flame as possible. Pushing up his sleeve, robe and cape, Atsumu revealed his marking, showing off his arm right next to Osamu's. Shown next to each other directly, the symbols appeared to be puzzle pieces that belonged together. As Suna got closer, Atsumu could see his eyes clearer and noticed that, though they shined a faint green, they looked pretty normal, just like Hinata said. 

"Okay, but… even if it was meant to be then– What does it mean? Is there something we are required to do? If yes then, what are we supposed to do?", Suna sat down on his bed and nonchalantly placed his comforter around Hinata, who thanked him softly. His teeth were clattering noisily, making everyone's gaze slowly turn towards him. Despite knowing him for a really short time, Osamu And Suna worried for the wizard. Being disconnected from his power source seemed to put a number on him and none of them knew how to help. 

Sitting in silence, Atsumu couldn't help but notice the necklace on Suna and narrowed his eyes as he spotted the amethyst hanging from it. He was ripped out of his thoughts as Hinata coughed a little. 

His light was slowly but surely going out, the shine of his eyes subduing. He looked weak. It was bewildering for Atsunu to see his normally hyperactive best friend cowering under a bunch of blankets. 

"H–Hinata, are you alright? Are you cold?", Atsumu asked, alarmed. He himself wasn't feeling any difference from the other side. He didn't entirely understand why, either. Maybe, he thought, it had something to do with his marking… but that was crazy, right? 

"Okay, so for starters this little guy is slowly being drained and we can't bring him back, because the portal has been closed and on top of that, the government is on our tail, for whatever reason. What do we do?", asked Osamu, looking at Hinata in concern. Hinata almost wanted to quietly tell Osamu his name wasn't 'this little guy', but he felt too weak to explain himself as more coughs rippled through him.

"I'm so cold…it hurts…", Hinata said through gritted teeth, clutching the sheets in pain. Grabbing all the comforters and pillows scattered across the room, Osamu and Suna build them all around Hinata to keep him warm. Nevertheless, the boy was still shaking, while the glow in his eyes was almost all the way gone. 

Atsumu quickly took out his wand to make a more efficient fire, when he noticed he never really worked well with his wand. He was about to stick it back into the back of his boot, but upon seeing Hinata sob silently, his grip around it tightened. To be fair, hand–magic was his stronger suit, but it wasn't as permanent or strong, at least not yet. The flames wouldn't last as long. 

"Hinata, I'm sorry. I never really used much magic with my wand back home, can you tell me what I need to do?", Atsumu frowned. He wanted to help him as best as he could, but it didn't look good for either of them. 

"You help, too. Samu!"

Osamu visibly flinched, but the only one to notice his shift in emotions was Suna. He grabbed his wand to try and mirror the instructions Hinata was about to give. Did they practice the same magic, or only the kind that was useful in each of their environments? Osamu was keen on finding out, but something was off about him after Atsumu spoke. Suna could tell, since, whenever something was off with one of them, the other could feel it. It was a deep connection neither of them understood, but deeply appreciated. Having someone by their side that understands without any words being spoken was nice. 

"Just imagine the fire you… you want to make.. I don't know! I do magic on instinct… I just think 'Orange, hot, burn, ouch, fire' and then a flame comes out of the wand!" 

Suna took hold of his wand, walked to the window and sent a tiny orb of light away with a flick of his wrist. Osamu knew exactly what this meant, but was more concentrated on trying to make fire, because it was never taught to them.

Even while following Hinata's vague instructions, the only thing he could conjure up was a ball of cold, blue light. 

So it  _ was  _ environmental! Or is it just a difference in ability and source of energy?

"What was that?", questioned Atsumu, but Hinata yelled at him to concentrate. Osamu turned to his twin, a tiny, almost too faint smile on his lips. There was something in his eyes that told Atsumu how proud the boy was of the other.

"Suna called for assistance from someone who might be able to help the small one. His mark is… not quite right, so he studies a lot about sun wizards in general. I'm sure he'll be delighted to find two– well, one sun wizard here", Osamu said, as he watched his boyfriend walk over from the window. Suna stood himself in between Osamu's legs, grabbing his face softly with cold, delicate fingers. 

"And by the way", Suna smiled," Happy day of arrival, baby." 

Now it was Atsumu's turn to flinch. It was his arrival day, too? It was so odd, he normally wouldn't have been able to ignore it anymore. But when they shared a deep kiss that Atsumu felt wasn't meant for his eyes, he concentrated on Hinata again, finally making a bigger fire for the boy to embrace. 

"Thanks, 'Tsumu..", hummed Hinata, closing his eyes as he pressed the fire against his body. Good thing sun wizards don't burn.

Not long after, the doorbell rang, ripping the boys back to reality. Suna perked up from his seat on his boyfriend's lap and went to open the door. He came back with another, much taller boy. To Atsumu's and Hinata's surprise, he was blonde, very much so. 

For Atsumu, it was unusual to have dark hair as someone who lived among sun wizards, so he just assumed a blonde moon wizard was the same kind of weird. 

_ What a strange guy, he doesn't even try to cover it up  _ thought Atsumu as he mustered the boy. His face seemed as indifferent as anyone could get, his style of clothing seemingly rather traditional with more see–through clothing then those that cover up. He was the tallest out of all of them and he adjusted his glasses as he looked around the room. Before he could introduce himself, he froze in place. His eyes were glued to Hinata, who, Atsumu saw, stared right back at him intensely. 

Suna cleared his throat, grabbing the others shoulder and shaking him a bit, but he kept his eyes fixated on Hinata. Said boy abandoned all his covers and comforters, left the fire to evaporate behind him and slowly made his way over the small distance, eyes never leaving the boy's tall frame. Hinata's eyes flared up, shining bright and so did those of the boy he was examining. 

"Uhm. Yeah, so, this is–" 

"Tsukishima", Hinata interrupted Suna. Hidden from everyone's eyes under his clothes, his necklace started glowing like crazy. With his own body glowing once more, the stone went unnoticed. Baffled, the dark haired boy nodded his head, agreeing. 

"Uh– Yeah, and uhm– I actually don't know your–", but before he could finish, Tsukishima spoke up. 

"Hinata." 

His necklace was in his trouser's pocket but the orange light from it wasn't strong enough for anyone to really notice.

Atsumu had never seen Tsukishima in his entire life and he was sure Hinata hadn't either. Still, the tension between them was so thick, if Atsumu reached out, he would be able to touch it and feel the resistance in the air. Even as he did a karate chop between them, the two of them didn't feel disturbed in the slightest and just kept their staring contest going strong. 

Tsukishima might hadn't let it show, but his heart was beating so fast, he was scared he might really pass out. He had never even seen half of the people in the room and he was freaked out about the red head boy, who's name he knew for some odd reason, and wished he didn't have a feeling for why that was. His instincts were telling him 100 things at a time, but the one annoying him the most was the voice saying  _ 'Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him!!!'  _

Instead, before he could stop his brain to mouth filter, Tsukishima started talking. To this day he can't remember if he regretted those words or not. 

"Why are you so small", was his, not so free–willed, choice of words. It wasn't even a question. It sounded more like a statement, as if it was something that could be actively changed. 

Hinata was offended and just about  _ exploded  _ with new–found energy. The glow on his body made the entire room light up in orange and had Osamu and Suna put on a pair of sunglasses each to keep their nocturnal eyes safe. Their own light didn't hurt them as much, but warm light was quite damaging for their night vision eyes, one could only imagine. 

Atsumu had absolutely no idea why they would have things such as sunglasses in a place swallowed by eternal darkness. Even all the animals living here must have adapted at least a little to ensure survival. There was no reason for them to even own them still. If things were to stay like this forever, they should have gotten rid of all that stuff.

'Ah, but the war wasn't so long ago, so I guess street lamps and sunglasses are things that still…–', Atsumu stopped his thoughts and started jumping around like crazy, realisation hitting him like a train on loose tracks. As soon as he had everyone's attention on him, what was easy since he looked like he had hemorrhoid problems, he started gesticulating wildly, blabbering words while tumbling over them and stuttering.

"...Suna, why did you let sun wizards in your house who also have rabies on top of that?", Tsukishima quietly asked, leaning over to the other boy. He didn't seem fazed at all by the fact that wizards had passed over to the moon side of the kingdom and were just casually chilling with his friends. Suna only shrugged, his necklace shimmering a bit. 

"My boyfriend brought them. Government is on our asses and we don't know what to do, but something doesn't add up here. The dude who looks like my baby but is kind of uglier, tell him." 

Atsumu glared at Suna, but quickly brushed it off and stepped over to Tsukishima, who took a cautious step back. 

You never know. 

Hinata was right next to him, almost vibrating with energy. It was weird, because Hinata had always been a lot more scared of moon wizards and their 'blind eyes' stories, his theories of their fangs and claws. Now this random moon wizard showed up who even had the blind eyes and Hinata just kept watching him excitedly. 

"Ok, so first of all, I do not have rabies! And second… Osamu, it is your day of arrival right? And you got your marking today and then suddenly you were attacked, right?"

When Osamu nodded in agreement, not quite following where his twin was going with this, Atsumu continued. 

"We– We have the same half marking and we have the same arrival day! Not to mention the same face? Look there's.. things here on your side that wouldn't need to be here if the situation were to stay the same forever, we have the same problem! Street lamps are useless for us, there's always light, so that's stupid, right?? And sunglasses! You wouldn't need them here! So why are those things still here?", he took a second to let the information sink in with everyone. It seemed to Atsumu, they had never thought about any of that. Living divided was normal for them.

"How much time has passed since the 'war that has divided our land'?", Atsumu asked into the room. 

"About 18 or 19 years, I'd say…", answered Tsukishima. 

The blonde was extremely interested in sun wizards and didn't believe the stories they were told in school, either. However, upon meeting Hinata and Atsumu just now, he couldn't deny that they sort of resembled fairies, from what they wanted him to know.  Now that he had two of them up close: One with rabies and hemorrhoids and the other one small and not intimidating in the slightest, he couldn't seem to think they were evil. He understood that Suna didn't care about all the dividing stuff either, so it wasn't surprising to Tsukishima, Suna let them in. Maybe it was just because Osamu brought them, though.  _ Those two were always attached at the hip, so no wonder _ , Tsukishima thought.

He dared another glance at Hinata and sighed as he was still staring at him with a look in his eyes Tsukishima couldn't quite place. It felt a bit like a challenge, but Tsukishima didn't want to take any chances if whatever was happening was what he thought it was. No way in hell this was happening with the likes of a sun wizard. Or rather, him being a sun wizard wasn't the problem, it was probably even helpful for quenching his lust for knowledge, but Tsukishima wasn't easy to get along with. 

But more important matters were at hand and he wanted to go back to his daily life as fast as magically possible. "And I think I might have an idea. We need to find out what really happened in the war 18 years ago, because I have a feeling we have been lied to excessively", Tsukishima scoffed,"And  _ for Sawa's sake, stop staring at me Hinata. _ " 

"Oh!", Atsumu went, walking up to Tsukishima in a hurry. He rolled up his sleeve for the third time that day and met the other's grey eyes. "Take a look at this. Do you have any idea what it is? Samus got the same one, the other half…" 

Ripples formed on the bridge of Tsukishima's nose, his glasses moving up with his dissatisfied expression. "I've never seen anything like it...is it an–" 

"Yes, it's an eclipse. We don't know why it's there or why we have the same marking and face and probably even name!" 

Looking back and forth between Osamu and Atsumu Tsukishima, first of all, laughed dryly. His shoulders shook with the movement. 

"I haven't been surprised in a long while, the fact that you have the same face didn't even occur to me until you said it just now. But still, we need intel." 

"But where are we gonna find information on that without getting caught by the guards? I mean, fuck the guards, but where are we gonna find information, at all?", Atsumu asked, licking his lips. 

This wasn't the sunny side that he knew like the back of his hand. Atsumu and Hinata were in a completely new environment. Not to mention the fact that they were never able to leave their home at all. Now that they had done it, they were on the run.

"Obviously in the library, you buffoon number 2", Tsukishima rolled his eyes, referring to Osamu as he replied to Atsumu. Taking out his wand, ready to teleport them over there, Tsukishima groaned when nothing seemed to happen. When it didn't work and his wand made a weird sound, his face scrunched in disgust. 

"Something is not right. Suna, can you get me a visual of the library?", the tall boy asked his friend, while he was scramming through the bookshelf next to the window. One of the books flew into his grasp and opened by itself, flipping through all the pages, but a second later he snapped his fingers and a bunch of new books appeared out of thin air. 

"Gotcha", Suna replied, conjuring up his wand and projecting a live picture of the library against the wall. 

While Tsukishima was studying his books, glancing up every now and then to take a glimpse at Hinata, who was hovering over his shoulder, he tried to find any new information. The smaller one couldn't make sense of the books at all, but Tsukishima made an annoyed sound before he made the books vanish once more. 

"Did you maybe notice the barrier being closed after coming through?", he questioned, shoving Hinata away from him only for Hinata to almost lay on top of him a moment later. He just let it happen with a growl after that, a small blush covering his annoyed face. 

"Yeah, when the other Atsumu tried to push us back through the portal, nothing happened! What's this all about Tsukishima? I'm not really following." 

"That and I think they have my mom…", Atsumu pried in. 

"And probably my dad, too", Osamu informed. 

"But why them? Why you?", Hinata asked once more, pressing his cheek to Tsukishima's. It looked like the blonde was about to explode, but Suna had also never felt him be this relaxed to be around people. His aura was calm, meaning that the annoyed exterior was Tsukishima being a tsundere. 

Suna and Tsukishima had been friends for a while, but this was new to both of them, though, it wasn't unwelcomed. A chance like that would not slip between Suna's fingers, so he spoke up about something the moon wizards knew and what still was a mystery to the sun wizards.

"Hey, Tsukki, don't you wanna check your–", Suna started grinning, trying to tell Tsukishima to check his necklace as a joke, but interrupted himself because of the glare Tsukishima shot him. With all his might, he kept his mouth shut. He was biting his lip, as to not burst out laughing. Suna hid his face in Osamu's chest and giggled, gently hitting his fist against his boyfriend's shoulder. Osamu just absentmindedly pressed a soft kiss to Suna's hair, paying attention to Tsukishima.

"If you finish that sentence I am going to eat your existence so shut the hell your mouth", Tsukishima took a deep breath before he continued, pushing Hinata away and holding him at an arm's length. Instead of being upset, Hinata just grabbed a hold of Tsukishima's arm, checking his marking. It was just a tiny fragment of a moon marking and Hinata found himself beaming up at Tsukishima. The latter ripped his arm away from Hinata and just watched him take a seat in his lap, before Tsukishima stood up, resulting in Hinata falling to the floor with a loud thud.

"So, I think I have an idea of what's going on, but I don't know for sure and we need to confirm it. As you can see on the wall, there's a whole bunch of guards. We can't teleport in, because as soon as you entered the barrier, all alarm systems closed facilities and shops and whatnot up with magic. We need to distract them to get in so I can find the information about our history, maybe it will tell us who the real evil is. These people are lying to us, but not for much longer. They probably closed the portal, so no one else can come or go. They know you're here."

"That's no problem, I'll just knock them out with–", Suna shot up, turning away from Osamu, taking a fighting stance. In response, Osamu grabbed his boyfriend's face from behind him, squishing his cheeks together. Once more, Osamu turned Suna around, pulling him near to his face.

"What did we say about hurting people with our powers?"

Slouching his shoulders and pouting, Suna answered reculantly with pursed lips. 

"It's not good to hurt other people even though we are so strong", Suna sighed and adjusted his stance. He walked to stand behind him so he would be resting his chin on Osamu's shoulder. Now he was pouting.

"Did he just say 'we'?", questioned Atsumu, only to be ignored by all four of them. Too deep into their own conversation about their plan of getting into the library without getting caught, they left Atsumu out. He pouted as well, grabbed his mother's staff and fidgeted around with it for a total of five minutes, until he had enough of this nonsense. He placed his mother's broken staff in the corner of the room and took another annoyed look at the weird mish mash of wizards. 

A partly moon and a full sun. A normal moon and half eclipse. 

None of them noticed him leaving the room and none of them noticed him pop up on the wall of Suna's room in the life projection. Not a single one of them noticed him going up to the guards followed by them carrying and throwing him into the bushes.  _ No direct approach, got it.  _

The guards didn't seem to recognize Atsumu, though he was wanted on the other side. He hadn't bothered changing his clothes, but he had to admit it was a little chilly without his two layers of robe. Finding the library hadn't been as hard as he had expected, but the two guards sure were annoying him greatly.

Groaning in the bushes, Atsumu rubbed his knees and frowned at the guards that went back to their position in front of the library entry. Next to him the bushes rustled and someone cleared their throat. 

"Well, that wasn't very successful", a boy's voice said. When it's frame stepped into the light of the moon, Atsumu's breath hitched. Not because he was surprised, but because the boy stepping closer was absolutely beautiful. 

The stone on Atsumu's necklace flared up in a light green color and he, by instinct, quickly wrapped his hand around it. After Atsumu recovered from the eye candy not too far away from him, he noticed he had just been insulted. After a second of shock at the audacity, he gasped.

"Oh, please! Do it better!", Atsumu complained. Assuming that both of them were trying to commit a crime of breaking and entering, relieved Atsumu a little. If he got thrown into jail right now, there was no way he could find his mother. 

He propped himself up and was met with a wave of heat coming directly from the other man. Said man raised an eyebrow, grinning wickedly. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes and Atsumu couldn't help but describe it as delicious. 

"Who are you anyway and why were you watching me?", Atsumu scoffed, ignoring the fact that for some odd reason, he knew exactly who the tall man was. The name popped into his head immediately.

Sakusa Kiyoomi. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to see my little boy: Here he comes. Next chapter is full of sakuatsu, finally, so stay tuned ;)


	5. Mischief Deal Of Lord And Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally here is Sakuatsu, I hope you enjoy these two idiots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm late, but I doubt anyone noticed

_ October 5th _

But that was all. Just the name popped into his head, without a drop of hesitation as to if it was true or not. It just was. He just  _ knew. _

"That doesn't matter. And are you kidding? Any moron would know how to trick these guards to get into the library", the boy smirked down at Atsumu. He was quite a bit taller and the way his lips quirked was irresistibly sexy, just as much as the two moles over his right eyebrow were. Locks of black, inky hair fell into his face, framing it perfectly and accenting his pale skin. In conclusion, he was drop dead gorgeous.

_ 'Now I sound like mom…' _ , Atsumu cursed, while sticking the stone of his necklace underneath his shirt in a hurried motion. It felt oddly warm, but he pushed the thought aside. It could wait. 

The gorgeous boy leaned down slightly, casting a shadow over Atsumu and making the moonlight cast a halo around himself. Atsumu swallowed audibly, staring up at Sakusa, eyes unblinking in the fear of missing anything. Whatever that might be.

"What? Cat got your tongue?", Sakusa asked in a gruff voice that shook Atsumu to his very core. He was cocky, his expression even more than his mouth, but Atsumu would be just as cocky, if not more. 

"If you're so smart and any moron could get in there I'm just wondering– ..If only there was a moron up to the task?", Atsumu purred in a teasing voice, inching even closer until their noses touched tenderly, their eyes never leaving each other. 

While Atsumu was smirking, Sakusa's expression fell. "I'd be careful if I were you. There's guards and hell hounds–" 

"So you're saying you're scared?", Atsumu mocked, taking a step forward. In response, Sakusa took a step back. It made Atsumu lick his lips, placing the tip of his tongue against his upper teeth.

"I'm  _ saying _ your magic isn't strong enough to not die before we even get inside!", Sakusa bit back with a snarl. He was exaggerating greatly, but the other didn't need to know that right now. He should be more scared, have a bit more common sense. Now he was getting upset and the pull he felt from Atsumu didn't make it any better. A tiny 'tch' escaped him. This wasn't a good sign, not at all. 

"Then make sure I don't." 

Winking, Atsumu snapped his fingers, teleporting himself behind the guards with such ease, even he was surprised that his magic suddenly worked that well. At that, Sakusa groaned in annoyance.  _ Wasn't he supposed to be bad at magic? Why can he teleport like that? _

Quickly, he jogged up to the guards, smiling at them innocently, and sent an irritating glare to Atsumu, who was giving a cute wave behind the men and a thumbs up. 

Grabbing a tiny bottle from his belt Atsumu poured some of the powder on his hand. With his eyes, me motioned for Sakusa to shut his mouth and not breathe anything in before he blew the hypnotic powder onto the guards. In a matter of seconds they got tired and fell down, now sleeping soundfully. 

Sakusa blew the remaining powder away and took a deep breath. "Where did you get that stuff? It's pretty strong?", he asked while taking the sleeping guards hand and holding it to the door. 

_ Who knew this would come in handy one day? _ Atsumu laughed in his mind.

"Made it myself. I got help, though." 

Within seconds, he was inside and sprinted through the big hall that led to the library. Soon, Sakusa followed behind. He felt the other close at his tail and turned around, a little startled. 

Sakusa smiled, strolling past Atsumu and bumping his shoulder in the process, what got him a nasty look from the blonde. It might have been more intimidating, had it not been for the blush tinting his cheeks at the sheer contact. His shoulder suddenly felt warm, but he rubbed it off with a frown.

"Bet I can find what you're looking for faster than you?", Sakusa challenged him once again, taking out his wand from the inside of his robe. He made the piece of wood twirl, small stars sprouting out of the top, while glancing at Atsumu from the corner of his eye. 

Atsumu knew this spell. Not too long ago had he found it in one of the books at school in the restricted area, though he was never able to pull it off himself. The spell analyzed the intentions of the creature it was used on. To his luck, Atsumu remembered the way to block this spell and quickly licked his fingers, distinguishing the small fragments of stardust, deeming them useless when they got wet, before they had a chance to reach his head. 

"Nice try. You're on, pretty boy." 

Sakusa raised his eyebrows. He was smiling and Atsumu couldn't help but think his smile was completely breathtaking while they started going through books upon books, stealing a few looks here and there. 

Atsumu told him he was looking for quite old books, saying to look for something dusty. It had to look like it had been untouched for years. Telling him was better than being seen through with magic.

After scramming through dozens of them, Sakusa walked over to the desk Atsumu was sitting at. His face was buried into a few pages, trying to get any useful information in the dark of the room. The small light he made himself grew dimmer as he kept on reading, the letters not making much sense to him, no matter how often he flew over them. The lettering was too weird to decipher, like a few of his mother's spell books back at home he wasn't allowed to even look at. Atsumu groaned, rubbing his temple angrily.

"Why is even your writing all in cursive and fancy? For Emi's sake..." 

A small pocket book dropped down on the surface of the wood when Sakusa let it fall out of his hands with a bored expression on his face, making Atsumu flinch.

"I'm not sure, but this might be what you're looking for, Atsumu. By the way, what you're trying to read there is old draconic." 

The boy in question stretched his arms, yawning and sighing. "I knew that…", Atsumu lied.

Fatigued from all of today's running and adventure, there was nothing he would love to do more than take a break and go home. 

Home, huh. 

Not a home to speak of anymore, Atsumu hid his face in palms, sighing long and hard. The sole of his feet hurt from all the walking and running and he would love nothing more than to just take a nap. Back, when things were normal, Atsumu would rarely leave the house. The only person he did any activities with was Hinata and those would never leave him this exhausted, either. 

After staying head in hands for quite a few moments, Atsumu cleaned his throat, rubbing his eyes. "Don't just say my name like that, it's creepy. I didn't tell you my name and you didn't tell me yours and yet I– just.. I know. That's just like that tall dude and Hinata…", sighed Atsumu. Closing the book of old draconic, he grabbed the smaller one before him. 

He examined it, turning it in his hands and feeling the rough, metallic edges. The spine was a bit broken and it looked pretty old, a little dusty. It sure had seen better days.

"'Ancient wizard tales', huh… Well, let's see." 

As Atsumu flipped through the pages, one hand shining light onto them, Sakusa hovered over him from behind, wanting to see what it said, too. The blonde could feel Sakusa's presence weighing him down. His breath against his ear. It made his whole body tingle with a feeling he would love to just shake off, but he refused to give in so easily. 

Atsumu swallowed down the urge to rub the tickle off of his ear and started flying over the words, moving his pointer to where he was currently reading. Halfway through the book, Sakusa stopped Atsumu. The prince's hand brushed against Atsumu's fingers, making him freeze. 

"You are too fast. Go back a page, Atsumu..", Sakusa told him with a tone so gentle, Atsumu's name rolling off his lips with such ease, said boy spaced out. 

The page that piqued the prince's interest said  **_Soulmates_ ** in bold, fancy letters. There were a few illustrations of creatures neither of them had ever seen before and Atsumu started to read the page out loud. 

"Soulmates. Soulmates are two individuals who were meant to be together. If one finds their soulmate, the stone they received in the ceremony of the marking, will glow in a bright color. Not only wizards, but other creatures and even non–natives have soulmates– However, finding them is harder without magic. Soulmates have a unique connection and can combine their magical powers to become equal to the powers of… eclipse wizards? What's an eclipse wizard?" 

The boys exchanged a confused glance, before Atsumu kept on reading. 

He inhaled deeply, giving the letters a chance to explain. "Many centuries ago, shapeshifters tried to steal the energy of the moon and the sun. Three witches came together and sacrificed their life to save both sun and moon. They came to be the spirit of the moon: Sawa, and the spirit of the sun: Emi. However, one of the witches remained, left to her own demise, as she made sure her friends would be alright. With their new–found power given to them as thanks by the moon and sun her friends combined their powers, making her the spirit of the eclipse: Tetsu…", Atsumu read. 

"From there on out it was said that they blessed wizards with their magic, giving them the chance to find their soulmates with their necklaces and very rarely other gifts."

When he leaned away from the book with a sigh about to escape him, the back of his head collided with Sakusa's pectorals, making him gasp, sucking in a breath before he apologized when he didn't want to. The prince didn't seem to mind him. 

"I knew about Emi", Atsumu quickly added. "My mom used to read me the stories of the sun and our protector, Emi, who was it's embodiment." 

Sakusa nodded in understanding, leaning even closer. "I never heard of Emi, but I was told of our spirit, Sawa. I didn't know there was another one. And you seem to belong to it." 

Atsumu's fingers tightened around the sides of the book. Swiftly he distanced himself from Sakusa, remembering what his marking looked like and what it resembled. Since the next heir to the throne was no idiot, he noticed the slight change in posture. Yet, he brushed it off. He was too occupied with the fact that his father had never told him about it before sending him on his mission. Now that he thought about it, all he was told was one single thing. 

"Strange. I never heard of that, though…", Sakusa mumbled, "But hey, what about our stones? If Sawa really blessed us moon wizards with our powers to find our soulmates, I wonder why no one is actively looking for each other.." 

"Yeah", Atsumu breathed. As the new information made loops in his head, he turned to look back at Sakusa.

"I have mine right here but it hasn't–", Atsumu explained while grabbing the necklace that was hidden underneath his clothes. When he took it out, it was green instead of the initial see–through. "–Aaaand I was wrong", he noticed.

Sakusa only chuckled a bit, pulling out his own necklace from his pocket. It was a really extremely bright color of yellow, a little orange, too. 

"I could have sworn this was normal before I–...", murmured Sakusa as he looked from the stone to Atsumu. When their eyes met, soulmate stones glimmering in the darkness of the library, there was such an intense feeling that they both held their breath unknowingly. It seemed plausible and really logical that, perhaps, the two of them could be– 

" **Nah"** , both of them said in unison. 

Neither of them could afford this right now. More important matters needed attending to, but little did they know what was about to happen to them.

"It says here that if one of the soulmates dies, the other's stone will turn black. If the individuals are in love, but weren't meant for each other, the stone will get cracks and break. Apparently, their connection is lost forever when the stones break. A– and if they fight together their powers will combine… Wait", Atsumu stopped himself. Where did he hear that before? 

"Well, anyway, let's look at what they have about eclipse wizards." Sakusa rushed, skipping a bunch of pages. 

The only thing Atsumu could see in the blink of an eye were the words 'Animagus' and 'Shifter', along with a few random colors of red and green, but he supposed he could read about that some other time.

As he looked through all the pages, there was nothing to be found under the words "Eclipse wizard". When Sakusa sat down on the table and pulled his inky locks out of his face, Atsumu quietly gasped, suddenly distracted from his original task. The other looked at him in slight shock, but gave him a kind, lopsided smile a moment later. Atsumu couldn't tell if it was genuine or not, but found he had little interest in the true intentions. Sakusa had just helped him get what he wanted, he could get rid of him now, if he wanted to. 

But did he want to? Before he knew it they were a little too close for comfort, but none of them seemed to care one bit. 

Before one of them could do something (stupid) about the lack of space between their faces, the sound of a door being slammed shut and loud barks made them flinch. 

Without missing a beat, Sakusa used a levitation spell to clear the table and quickly pulled Atsumu into his arms, one hand covering his mouth. Walking backwards Sakusa hid them behind a bookshelf. Just in time, Atsumu grabbed the pocket book that was flying by and pressed it to his chest, distinguishing the light in his palm, both of them leaving no trace of them ever having been there. 

Sakusa's breath tingled Atsumu's ear and he shivered against the other, trying not to wiggle around under the feeling, but it was too late. Annoyed by him being unable to hold still and keep quiet, Sakusa bit the other's ear, making the wizard yelp in protest before biting down on the prince's palm. Both men had trouble staying quiet, their lips between their teeth in pain, they waited for the guards to leave.

Just as they were about to whisper-shout at each other  _ What the hell was that for?!  _ one of the guards passed their shelf. Eyes squeezed shut, Atsumu was praying for his nightmare to finally end so he could wake up and tell his mother about it and spend the day with Hinata as they had previously planned to do.

As soon as they were sure the coast was clear and they were alone again, they put a little space between themselves, panting. 

"We gotta get out of here. But quietly, come on…" 

Most of the atmosphere had cleared between them, but Atsumu was stubborn. "But I didn't find what I was looking for! I can't leave yet!", Atsumu yelled distressed, slipping on a stray piece of paper on the floor when he ripped himself from Sakusa's soft hold.

"But Atsumu–", the raven haired began, grabbing his wrist one more. As he ripped his hand from Sakusa's grasp for the second time, he fell against the bookshelf behind him with a loud  _ boom _ . It wobbled a bit, before a load of books fell down on top of him like an avalanche of knowledge. One of the books lay open on Atsumu's head like a hat and he blew a blond strand of hair out of his annoyed face when the last book plopped out. 

Sakusa looked down at him with a mix of mockery and pity, holding in a giggle. With his hand over his mouth, he tried to muffle the sound, but Atsumu still heard it loud and clear, shooting him a glare that could pierce through the thickest shield, be it magic or weaponry.

And though it made him suffer, Sakusa was an expert at poking fun where it hurt. "It seems like your definition of loud is different from mine, Atsumu. What's that all about?" 

"Oh, shut up and help me, you piece of trash", Atsumu bit back while looking at the mess he had made, licking his lips.

With a pleased smile, Sakusa levitated the book on top of Atsumu's head into his hands, scanning the pages one after another. He looked through it in thought, once again pulling the hair out of his face with his free hand and making himself look irresistibly delicious.

"Why didn't you just stop them mid–air? You should be able to do that", mocked Sakusa once more, not even giving him a look as he made fun of the boy on the floor. He snickered.

"Oh, I'm  _ sorry _ I was too surprised by the book that fell on top of my  _ head to do some fancy shmancy levitation magic" _ , he complained while standing up and dusting off his robe. Atsumu moved his fingers in a quick motion and all the books flew back into place in an instant. 

For a short second he stared at his hand, baffled by how easy magic suddenly seemed to be. At the same time, Sakusa used Atsumu's obvious distraction to rip a page out of the book, sticking it into the chest pocket of his robe, before turning back to Atsumu. 

"Hey, take a look at this…", Sakusa mumbled and handed Atsumu the book he was holding. 

"This is saying something about… an old land named eclipse and the–", he stopped himself, staring at Atsumu's marking as he tried to find the right words to say"– other kinds of wizards. It's kind of weird…", continued Sakusa, his voice drenched in concern. His eyebrows were knitted together and Atsumu had to hold back the urge to straighten those folds in Sakusa's skin with his finger. 

Sakusa held the book out to Atsumu and watched as the other quickly flew over the two pages, illuminating them with a tiny, peach colored fire in his free hand. 

When he was done reading, Sakusa watched as he processed the information and concentrated hard immediately after. Whatever he was trying to do seemed to not work in the slightest and the giggle Sakusa could not keep in ripped Atsumu out of his thoughts.

"What–… are you doing?", the prince grinned, walking around Atsumu in circles. 

Grunting in irritation, Atsumu barked. "I'm  _ trying _ to teleport out and back to my friend, but you are so– so–", he tried to find the word best to describe the pure surge of negative emotion Atsumu got just by Sakusa's presence, but all that left him was a gnarly growl,"–  _ aarggh!"  _

"You forget that we never even teleported inside. They probably noticed someone went in and closed the doors again, hence why they came looking. They are probably  _ still _ looking, but we can't get out." 

"Wow", Atsumu said. "That was so disgusting of you." 

"Disgusting of  _ me? _ Uhm,  _ excuse you _ , I have been helping you this entire time and this is the thanks I get?" 

Atsumu groaned. "I've had enough of this, I didn't ask you to help me! Leave me alone!" 

"Fine!" 

"Fantastic!!" 

Stomping away with loud steps Atsumu went to find a book about the basics of teleportation magic. If he was lucky, maybe he could find a spell strong enough to withstand the barrier. Just several minutes before he had noticed his powers to be stronger than usual, Atsumu had gotten nauseous, but he didn't quite know why that was, before.

Another hour passed and Sakusa got tired of watching Atsumu struggle to do the most basic of magic. With slow steps he approached the other who had his eyes closed in concentration. 

It was but a whisper and Atsumu could have sworn it was the wind that carried Sakusa's voice over to him. "You're doing it wrong…" 

Something about it was strange. Usually, when people told him he was doing something the wrong way he would get offended. The tone of these people always accusing him of being either incapable, stupid, or both. Sakusa, however, sounded almost sheepish, pitying the other in something that was everything but mockery. 

At this point Atsumu's muscles were aching. He was so tired, he looked into the other's eyes. "Help me, then." 

He almost messed it up, but with Sakusa by his side, it felt a little easier than usual, even if it was supposed to be harder to teleport more than one person at a time. Since teleportation was still a bit tricky for Atsumu, he and Sakusa landed on their butts in Suna's garden instead of the house (or on their feet). 

"Ow, what the fuck? Your teleportation fucking sucks", Sakusa groaned, rubbing his head, which had collided with the hard wood of the garden's fence. He shot Atsumu a look that said  _ Who was your teacher??? _ as he got back on his feet. 

" _ You _ said to picture the location and once I had visualized I should just–"

Sakusa offered the blonde his hand before interrupting him. "Yes, I know what I said, but you expertly left out the part where I told you to do so  _ gently _ ?"

His dark mob of hair was in disarray and his eyes wide with something that seemed like worry for the other. Only now did Atsumu notice that his eyes, just like those of Tsukishima, were white; blind eyes. For some reason, Atsumu's heart skipped a beat. He jumped to his feet, ignoring Sakusa's offer to help and dusted off his robe, more aggressively this time. Without another word, Atsumu grabbed the other boy's wrist and pulled Sakusa with him into the house through the back door. 

Upon entering the room, he thought maybe the others had already been looking for him– maybe they were worried about him– Shouyou definitely would be. After all, he had been gone for a good two or three hours, if not more. 

What he found in the room, was not only concerning, but to him, also a bit disgusting (No, he is not jealous).

Osamu and Suna were cuddled together on the floor, looking through various books that lay all around them in a circle, opened to random pages to look for any useful information. On the other hand Hinata was planting kisses all over Tsukishima's face, to which he responded by desperately trying to shove the small redhead off of his lap, to no avail. Atsumu called bullshit. 

"Ugh, Tsuki–whatever your name is, if you were  _ really _ trying, you  _ could _ push him away, he weights like 6 kilo or something!", Atsumu complained, stomping into the room with Sakusa tripping behind him as he was roughly pulled, his wrist still in Atsumu's grip. 

The two boys looked up at him, their eyes moving to where Atsumu and Sakusa joined hands and tilted their head to one side either. Their expressions looked similar to those of young kittens playing with a red light dot when they were puzzled at where the red dot went when the wizard stopped the magic. 

In unison they blinked.

"You were gone?" 

At that, Atsumu snapped. " _ YES. _ I WAS GONE! WHAT WERE YOU DOING THE WHOLE TIME??" 

"I was trying to do some research when–" 

"Kissing!!", Hinata babbled in between. 

Atsumu rolled his eyes exaggeratingly and Sakusa feared if he did it a little harder, his eyeballs might pop out. If it weren't for them probably being Soulmates, Atsumu would be furious right about then. Well, he still was, but he chose not to show it.

He held up Sakusas arm, so the other two love birds would pay attention as well, since they clearly didn't even notice someone unfamiliar entering the room. When they finally noticed just  _ who _ it was, that was practically holding hands with Atsumu, the three moon wizards shot up and bowed down so swiftly, he took a step back. Why would they..? 

"Your highness!!", they chanted together and Atsumu felt like the cheapest joke. 

There was no way. 

Atsumu's head flipped back and forth between the wizards and Sakusa. It took him at least 6 times back and forth until he found his voice again. 

"YOUR  _ WHAT _ NOW?", he yelled into the room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what,, Sakusa is a prince :3
> 
> Until next week, your Tetsu!!


	6. A Royal Pain In The Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atsumu finds out about Kiyoomi and they try their best to contact mom.. but will it work?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I'm late again. I will update two chapters today to apologize for my tardiness.   
> A big thank you to JaegerManu and Miss_Troublemaker for the comments, they really made my day and I'm honestly just updating for you two at this point, thanks for enjoyin this mess of mine sobs

_ October 5th _

"This is the young prince, Kiyoomi", explained Tsukishima matter of factly, now finally able to breathe without Hinata right by his side.

"Now, bow down before I kick your shins, you cheap excuse of somehow related to my boyfriend", Suna warned him, only his green eyes glancing up at Atsumu from him facing the ground while bowing to the prince. 

"No! There's no need! Please– stand tall. You are proud wizards, you do not need to bow to me… or to anyone, for that matter", Sakusa rubbed the back of his head, flustered and quite uncomfortable. This hasn't been the first time people treated him differently, just because he was royalty; or something related to that, and it made him sick.

"Oh,  _ now  _ you're all nice? This punk challenged and almost kissed me!!! Prince or whatever, he's mean and a flirt!"

"So, then what are you?", Suna challenged, snickering as he sat back down between Osamu's legs. Before Atsumu could respond, Hinata engulfed his best friend in a big hug, making his spine crack in a pleasant way that made him sigh out in satisfaction.

"I didn't even notice you were gone!!! Tsukki's face just kinda looked like it needed to be kissed a bunch, so I was really distracted! Sorry!", Hinata beamed up at Atsumu. 

At the sound of his name out of Hinata's mouth, Tsukishima perked up and turned a weird shade of red. Balling his fists at his sides he started yelling at the other. 

"Well, I didn't ask you to!! And because of you, I didn't get any further with my research! I need to find out what happened in the war!" 

From where Atsumu was glaring daggers into Sakusa he turned around with a big smile on his face. He waved around with the book in his hands and sat down on the floor, expecting his companions to do the same. All the other boys just looked at him as if he were out of his mind, so he sighed, telling them to take a seat. 

"I was in the library and–" 

"How the fuck did you get in there? I tried many times but not even with this new spell I–", Tsukishima began, but Atsumu interrupted him the same way he was interrupted. 

"I used hypnotic powder on the guards, made it myself. Now. We found books in the library that helped a bit and now, look at this!" 

Proudly, Atsumu pointed to the corresponding page of the book that would help explain what was going on. Eyes closed and full of himself, he waited for praise to rain over him. What he got instead was quiet. 

"... 'How to clean your wand'...?", Osamu quitely questioned. Atsumu's eyes snapped open and he flipped through the pages, until he got the right one for real this time.

While the others read the pages, Hinata had  _ You need to.. clean it? _ written all over his face, to what Tsukishima's face twisted in disgust at the thought of how dirty Hinata's wand must be.

"... Animagus? Bakeneko? Nekomata? Shapeshifter? What is all of that?", Suna spoke up. He exchanged a look with Sakusa, who had obeyed Atsumu's command to sit down like all the others had. When he just shrugged, Suna sighed and let his head hang low. Great. 

"We don't know but… It talks about different lands and wizards. About some place called eclipse with these eclipse wizards, you know like me and Osamu. Guys, there are…  _ other wizards _ out there somewhere! People who– who can transform themselves into animals and super powerful wizards who have knowledge about– about… anything! Maybe about us! It also said that soulmates who work together are on the same power level as them and that they are some super powerful dudes and… Osamu, what you said earlier about being strong with Suna together? Show me your necklaces please…" 

Without question or a mean remark, the boys held up their necklaces with blank faces. They wondered what it had to do with anything they were currently discussing and widened their eyes when Atsumu let out a tiny yell of euphoria. The necklaces stones were olive green and purple.

"You!! You two are soulmates!! And you are so powerful if you work together! Now,  **why** would no one… tell us about that?" 

And then it clicked for everyone except Hinata. While the others were talking, he was clinging to Tsukishima's arm, still mulling over the whole 'cleaning the wand' thing. His head went from left to right, like a dog waiting for a stick to be thrown, as he went back to listening to the conversation.

"They keep us seperated, they tell us lies about the other wizards we know of and don't tell us about  _ other _ wizards and creatures, they keep from us that we are powerful if we find our match, actively holding us back from finding them, our land shouldn't be divided, since it obviously wasn't before the war and… We are being oppressed", Tsukishima stated the facts, "Someone doesn't want us to know how powerful we can be." 

For a moment, they let the information sink in. Hinata looked at the frown Tsukishima was wearing and gently caressed his cheek. He had never been really good with words when he wanted to, but this gentle gesture was enough to wash away the frown. Against his will, the blonde leaned into the touch and smiled the slightest bit. It was oddly comforting, even though no words were said. As soon as Tsukishima's lips quirked up, Hinata's did the same.

"Then… Why are they after us? What are we, Atsumu..?", Osamu asked his brother, "Why are they after dad? And your mom– well, our mom?" 

"And what exactly is the root of the problem? Why would they not want us to have power? Just so there is no war? Or is it bigger than that? How– how powerful are we?", Tsukishima spoke up once more, squeezing Hinata's small hand in his. The boy smiled from ear to ear. 

Now that they knew that having a soulmate gave them advantages, Tsukishima saw less logic in pushing Hinata away. If he wanted to or not, he could tell the other was or will be special to him.

"I'm not sure but… Why is your highness here again?" 

Sakusa had been quietly following the conversation, when he was abruptly mentioned, causing him to jolst up and blink a few times. His hand was casually resting on Atsumu's thigh, who was way too caught up in their discussion to even notice anything. The prince hadn't said a word this entire time. Having him around felt a bit odd for the moon wizards, since they were under his indirect control and this gathering of misfits seemed too casual for royalty.

"Ah, who, me?" 

"There is… no other highness here", Osamu explained slowly. It was very hard for him not to be sarcastic about it. 

Sakusa turned red and ignored the sudden stare he received from Atsumu, pretending not to be a little butt hurt when Atsumu slapped Sakusa's hand from his thigh. He still couldn't believe that he didn't notice at all! How would he have known he was talking to the king's son, of all people! But he hadn't been the one to approach the other. Speaking of that… Why  _ was _ he there? 

"I just uh–" the prince gulped, pausing as if he was waiting for someone else to give the words to him,"–… happened to be there, when I noticed someone trying to break into the library! I often take walks around there to– to clear my head. Yes. And– and then I found Atsumu and, I think  _ he  _ thinks I didn't notice, but his necklace flared up when our eyes met and he's probably my soulmate…–" 

Atsumu buried his face in his hands at being utterly ridiculed and humiliated by Sakusa in front of others. The whole time he thought Sakusa hadn't noticed, but of course he had seen it and put the pieces together. 

The other boys started laughing to their heart's content, gasping for air when they ran out. Suna was banging his fist against the floor while Tsukishima just snorted so hard his nose hurt and his glasses started to fog up. 

"The likes of you?? A sun wizard?? With the prince of the  _ moon _ wizards? Yeah, as if..!!" 

It was sad. The things they had been taught from when they first started speaking stuck with them. It was as if not all of them were wizards, people, just because their source of energy was different. But it wasn't too late and they would learn from their mistakes. They would learn to do better.

After a long pause of observation, Hinata perked up from his seat next to Tsukishima and grabbed into his trousers pocket. With a loud yelp from the both of them, Hinata pulled out the orange stone that belonged to Tsukishima. 

"I actually don't think this is weird at all. It says that everyone regardless of their marking has a soulmate in the book. What's weird is that all of us here have a soulmate and we all just found out …  _ right now _ . Well, except for Suna and Atsumu number two", Hinata mumbled. He ignored the light shove he received from Osamu and rubbed his chin in thought. Osamu got a shove from Tsukishima in return. Suna was too lazy to move.

"So, then you think mom and dad are…– ", Atsumu started, licking his lips and chewing on his bottom one. His brother gave him a short nod. 

"Probably. We need to contact them, they probably know what we are. But… how are we going to do that?", Osamu asked the group. 

Deep in thought, Atsumu looked around the room. When his eyes fell on his mother's staff, they lit up. Broken or not, the staff probably still had Amalia's magic stored in it. With that, they could make a magic circle to talk to her. Following his brother's gaze, Osamu understood what was going on and he gave Suna a small peck to his cheek before standing up. 

"Babe, can you fetch me your alchemy book?" 

"Yeah, course. Why?", he asked, snapping his fingers without leaving Osamu's frame with his eyes. The book he was looking for appeared in Suna's hands and he snatched it from his grasp, before running off to get materials. Suna sighed and directed his gaze toward Atsumu. 

"Is that some kind of twin telepathy? Because I don't like it." 

"Oh, relax. I'm sure this is not that intense. Also, that would be creepy, I don't want anyone in my thoughts, thanks", Atsumu replied dryly, completely missing the point. He walked over to grab the staff and almost peed his pants in shock as Sakusa stood millimeters away from him when he turned back around. That was creepy as hell, too. 

"I've been meaning to ask since we entered the room. What is going on? Whose staff is this? Who are these people and why does one look like you? Why were we looking for things in the library?" 

This did it for Atsumu. He grabbed Sakusa's shoulders and pushed him away, even though the voice in his head told him to embrace him in a warm hug. How would he just walk in on him and mingle in his business and on top of that also be his soulmate, all of a sudden? 

'But you were the one who dragged him with–  _ not now inner voice, fuck you.' _

"The question is, why did you know what I was looking for? I blocked your spell. I only told you very little about what I wanted to know and you just– just budd your head into  _ my business! _ Who are you, anyway and how did you find me?", Atsumu asked him, voice high and bothered. He didn't care if he was talking to a prince or a peasant. If Sakusa was acting suspicious, Atsumu would always go with his instinct to at least act on it. 

Atsumu had never feared authority more than the lack of knowledge, ever since he was a child. Now that he thought about it, it might have been his mom who always told him to treat everyone as equal, no matter who they were. Maybe that was the first clue, which he just didn't understand at the time. Maybe he didn't understand it even then. It would take a bit longer for him to finally understand the situation he was in. 

**_"Be nice to everyone, there are people a lot different from you and that's a wonderful thing, honey. You might need their help some day."_ **

For a slight moment the moon prince seemed to panic, unable to really explain himself properly. A moment later, it hit him that it wasn't all too odd, considering the two of them soulmates. Assuming. Hoping? 

"You knew my name, too, didn't you? You said it yourself!", retorted Sakusa quickly, holding up his hands in defense. His chin was held high to not get in the way of Atsumu's fists on his collar. He wanted nothing more than to kiss the boy before him, but he held back. Trusting each other was important now and Sakusa would put in the effort, by all means. He couldn't risk failing. Not because of something as stupid and irrelevant as love. 

"You know what? I don't have time for this. My mom is somewhere held against her will. We– I need  _ power _ . Nothing should be this way in the first place. It's time we fight. I don't care if you, as prince, are against that and I also do  _ not _ care that you are my 'soulmate' or whatever…"

It took Sakusa a brief second to comprehend the words that came flooding out of Atsumu's mouth. His desperate eyes made the prince shut up and he lowered his head before he just nodded weakly. He pushed the other off of him quickly, but feelings of guilt immediately crushed down on Atsumu. Even more so at the following words. 

"I know we just met and even  _ if _ we are soulmates, that is no reason for you to trust me. I'm sorry I invaded your privacy. I will be taking my leave. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your plan", Sakusa said, clearing his throat to make an impression of Atsumu as he added, "Or whatever." 

Sakusa grabbed his wand and held it up, sending one last pleading look towards Atsumu before biting back a sigh. He was met with a stern face, waved his wand and teleported himself away. All that was left was a glittery cloud slowly dissolving.

"Tsumu, don't you think that was a bit harsh? He didn't do anything wrong…", Hinata started. His head was peeking out from behind Tsukki, who he was hugging. The boy stuck his head under the moon wizard's armpit and shot Atsumu a conflicted look.

"Yeah, I agree. Besides, if the king– who has built the wall that we wanna tear down to get outside and meet other kingdoms– has a son that is whipped for you, don't you think we could use your highness's help to our advantage?"

Hinata nodded in agreement, cuddling himself closer to his soulmate, who in return relaxed into the embrace. At this point, he didn't even care he was the little spoon and just enjoyed the affection, which he undoubtedly had been craving. 

In all this life, the blond moon wizard had never let anyone touch him much and kept to himself for the most part. Even his friendship with Suna was rocky, not easy for either of them. It was safer that way. His heart, that is. But this situation was different and he was sure Atsumu felt the same thing. Said boy groaned. 

"I  _ hate _ it when you're right and now you even got reinforcements from your stupid, smart soulmate!" 

Hinata just let out an evil, ugly, gremlin laugh and clinged harder onto Tsukishima's neck. The blonde made a choked sound and coughed a little, balancing himself as to not let Hinata fall or let himself be suffocated. They stopped in their tracks at the shift in atmosphere and watched Atsumu walk to the door and open it, revealing Sakusa sitting on his knees on the floor. 

Atsumu rubbed his temples a little and locked eyes with Sakusa. The moon wizard batted his eyelashes at Atsumu, making himself look like a kicked, abandoned puppy left out in the rain. After one last big sigh followed by a theatrical groan, Atsumu waved his hand toward the room lazily. 

"Ok, you can come back." 

The prince shot up and ran back into the room, sitting down on the bed happily. Everything about him was so different. Even his posture was overly polite, his hands on top of one another and his smile so big, it almost looked unnatural. Atsumu just rolled his eyes and dropped to the floor. 

"How did you know he was still there?", Tsukishima wondered. When Atsumu just shrugged, saying he had a feeling, the blonde didn't understand at first. Another glance at Hinata cleared his suspicions. Tsukishima strongly believed he could tell Hinata apart from thousands of others, even if they looked the same way.

With the tools Osamu had brought back, Atsumu started painting a circle on the floor. Because of his mom, he was more used to drawing them in chalk, but white paint would do the job just fine. He had watched his mother draw these circles so many times, he could do it with his eyes closed by now. 

"What did I sign up for…", Suna sighed, "This looks like a summoning, Atsumu." 

"Well, it sort of is. I'm trying to reach mom with this, even though I need to reread how to really do that part. I can draw it, easy peasy, but the magic part isn't my thing, even though it's more individual sorcery than a spell."

"When you summon a demon I will tell them to eat you first", said Suna bitterly. It was evident he didn't have much knowledge of demons, but none of them really did. 

All they were taught about demons was: Don't summon demons, they are evil. 

But given their evidence all they had been taught might be pure bullshit. 

With purpose in his step, Sakusa walked over to Atsumu and sat down on the opposite of him, on the other side of the circle. He examined it for a brief moment, rolling up his sleeves and tapping his chin. Almost automatically, Atsumu checked his arm for a marking. To his surprise, it was small– only a snippet of a moon marking. It was odd. He had seen many markings in his life that were half or a bit pale, but almost no marking at all? That was always a bit strange to him. 

_ So, Sakusa was broken, too.  _

The more he thought about it, the more Atsumu noticed the fact that many markings weren't perfectly normal. They all had their imperfections and even though he thought it was normal all his life, now after all what happened, it felt wrong. 

With his eyes, Atsumu followed Sakusa's smooth movements as he enhanced the circle, making it stronger and easier to use. From what Atsumu could tell Sakusa wasn't a bad sorcerer himself, but he still seemed to get along with his wand better than with his hands. Upon staring at Sakusa quite a bit, the boy squirmed under Atsumu's gaze. He lowered his hands slowly, laying them on top of his lap.

"It's easy. You do it too", he urged. "Just place your hands outside of it and give it some of your energy. It helps." 

Closing his eyes, Atsumu did as he was told and felt a piece of magic fleeting out of him and inside the circle. 

"This should do the trick… Can you hand me the staff, please? Then we'll be able to contact your mother immediately", he held out his hand with a calm face, but slightly blushed when their hands brushed against one another. Reculantly, Atsumu left his mother's staff in Sakusa's hands, even though he didn't trust him all the way. He didn't have a reason to, yet. But that exact fact was gnawing at him, thoughts corrupting his mind that told him to trust Sakusa, that he is a prince and should be shown some respect! If Atsumu was a prince, he would definitely demand respect. Yeah, as if that's ever going to happen, though. 

Standing up, Atsumu rubbed his stomach and frowned. Now that another piece of his energy was missing, he felt hunger creep up on him. Aside from hunger and a chunk of energy missing, he was feeling a little empty inside, but couldn't tell if it was loneliness or just straight up anxiety, maybe he was just tired? Either way, it didn't feel good and made his tummy roar. 

"Are you hungry?", Osamu asked out of the blue,"I can make us snacks if you want. Do you all like Onigiri?" 

To his horror, Osamu stared into the blank faces of his brother and Hinata. Tilting their heads to the side, they told him no, they had never heard of that. 

"What is Onigiri? Can you eat that?", asked Hinata, fumbling around with Tsukishima's slender fingers, while he read through dozens of books and flipped the pages using magic with his free hand. 

"Holy shit, that is a crime. I am making you Onigiri right now. You're gonna love them, they are the tastiest thing on earth, quite literally." 

Suna smiled up at Osamu from his seat on the pillow fort. Holding out his hand, Osamu grabbed it, giving it a soft peck. 

"Put lotsa mustard on mine." 

"I am not putting mustard on your Onigiri, bitch. That's disgusting", Osamu cursed, giving his boyfriend a small kiss on the lips, which almost made him topple and fall over. With a grin on his lips, Suna watched his soulmate disappear through the door of his room. 

"Fuck, I love him so much." Suna's gemstone glimmered in approval. 

After Osamu made snacks, which were amazingly good, and everyone had a chance to relax, they sat together around the circle, waiting for Atsumu to make the connection. The boy knew that for beginners casting this magic was draining, but he was a first timer with an already tired body and still fresh mark. It was gonna hurt. 

_ Deep breaths. Just concentrate, he _ told himself.  _ It can't possibly be  _ that _ hard, now can it? _

Before their very eyes, the air started flickering like a fire being lit and, not soon after, they had a visual on Amalia. The glow she gave off was very faint, she looked hurt. 

"Mom!" 

The woman gasped, overwhelmed with pride at her son making a circle to contact her. Her voice was low as she spoke, careful not to be heard by the guards that were standing outside of her cell.

"Oh, I'm so glad you are okay, honey! Look, I don't have much time and there's so much to explain. You need to destroy a certain book at Suna Rintarou's. It's called 'Nekoma'." 

"W–wait, what? Mom, where are you, are you okay? Who captured you?", Atsumu asked hurriedly, the information his mother gave fleeting immediately. He was glad to have Tsukishima beside him who wrote all the information down.

"Do as I say, sweetie. It has to be you, not your brother." 

"M–mom, I don't understand! H–how–" 

"Listen,  _ honey _ . Mommy is fine as long as you do as I  _ say _ . You are running out of time and it will take a lot of time to learn how to break down that wall, if not forever. Find the book! You have to obey. It's imperative that you destroy the book." 

Her voice was steady when all her expression told Atsumu was grievance. He couldn't make sense of anything his mom said and he was close to going completely crazy.

"Wh–", was all Atsumu could choke out before the connection was broken and his mom disappeared from his view. Confused to no end, he got carried away and lost concentration, so losing connection was his fault. What does all of that mean? Nekoma? 

"... That went well." 

"Why does  _ your _ mom know who  _ I  _ am and what kinds of books I have?", questioned Suna, rubbing his cheek in confusion. It creeped him out, since he knew all of his books, but not a single one of them had the name 'Nekoma'. Even if one of the books wasn't what they appeared to be, Suna would have been able to tell. How would it even get there in the first place? Was it hidden?

"You're my boyfriend. My dad knows about you, so he probably told mom? So that means they knew about me and 'Tsumu, but never told us, too...hm", Osamu quitely theorised. He did have Suna over at their place often and he had always been really open to Zota. There was no need to keep any secrets, in Osamu's opinion and his father was very proud of him for that. He didn't have anything to hide. But guess their parents did, after all. 

"That still doesn't explain why she knows about what books I own…but I guess it doesn't really matter. Let's look for the book and contact Zota. Maybe we'll find out a bit more and what we should do." 

"No", Atsumu said stubbornly,"She just told us to destroy the book. That's what we're gonna do." 

Sakusa quietly rubbed small circles on Atsumu's back in the hopes to comfort the shocked boy. He couldn't make sense of the words that had been said, but he knew none of the others did either, so it was time to do what they had been told. It sounded extremely important and they were apparently running out of time. That was news to him. 

"Atsumu…", Sakusa breathed, "Let's look for the book. We'll find a solution and help your mom. I'll help in any way I can. Promise." 

Even though he felt Sakusa's words were sincere, not a single muscle moved in Atsumu's body. Thousand thoughts rushed through his head at top speed and he barely kept up, if he did at all. 

About to pull away, thinking his softly rubbing on Atsumu's back was useless or worse, counterproductive, he smiled when his soulmate turned to face him. Even though there were tears in his eyes about to leak out and his frown was deep and upset, it wasn't directed at Sakusa. He took Atsumu's hands in his, pulled him up and gave him an encouraging smile. 

"We'll free your mom. Let's do as she said, okay?" 

The staff was still in Sakusa's hands and Atsumu could see his knuckles turning white from his tight grip on it. 

_ I'm so sorry… _

Atsumu gave a firm nod and glanced at the others. For a second, he hesitated, but when he felt Sakusa's hold on his shoulder he straightened. His fists were clenched at his sides as he started talking. The wavering in his voice almost went unnoticed. Almost. 

Before he could open his mouth to announce his leave, Hinata stopped him. 

"You can't just go! You don't know what's gonna happen or what you have to do!! The prince can't just decide that!" 

Jumping up from where he sat next to Tsukishima, Hinata stomped over to Atsumu, jabbing a finger into his chest. 

"I'm coming with you, if you want to and not!" 

"I think it's 'Or not'–", started Atsumu choking on his tears, but Hinata cut him off once more, yelling. 

" _ That's what I said! _ " 

Any and all sound was stuck in his throat and he blinked a few times, regaining his composure. The second he found his voice back he yelled right back at Hinata. "It's too dangerous, we don't know what's awaiting us! You're staying here with your soulmate, where you're safe!" 

Sakusa thought it was a good chance to push his luck. "Come on, Atsumu. We're leaving." His tone was dismissive, avoidant. It made Hinata feel like Sakusa was trying to build a wall between him and his best friend. Hinata was trembling with rage.

"That's exactly why I wanna come with! Atsumu– Your mom is not there to heal you when things go wrong, you can't just run head first into this! No we– we need to think about this carefully." 

"We don't have  _ time _ for carefully! I'm going alone, just Sakusa can come with me and that's the end of it. Princess, you're coming with me, since  _ someone  _ doesn't know how to be a good  _ friend _ ", Atsumu retorted, grabbing Sakusa by the collar and turning on his heel before he could catch a glimpse of Hinata's expression. With a shocked yelp, Sakusa let himself be dragged off, the staff still safe in his hands.

He tried to hold his feelings in, all of them, but as soon as the door closed behind Sakusa and Atsumu, Hinata rubbed his burning eyes, lower lip quivering. Atsumu's words pierced Hinata's heart and he felt like screaming and yelling after him to  _ come back  _ and  _ I didn't mean it this way,  _ but pride suddenly clouded his vision. It prevented him from seeing what's wrong or right.

"Fine! Go then! I hope you die trying!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh and by the way.. you two aren't entirely wrong with your ideas and I can't wait to reveal to you the rest hehe :3


	7. How To Accidentally Run From The Mess You Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travelling was fun, but Atsumu would prefer different means of transportation. Dad. And cats. Who might they be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the cats are here,, enjoy

_October 5th_

The moment these words left his lips, Hinata tried to catch them and take them back. Both his hands clasped over his mouth as he gasped. He held his breath, waiting for a response. For  _ something _ . 

For a second he swore he could feel Atsumu's frown. Did he hear him? Was he mad now? Oh, he must be so mad. 

With a quick, scared glance at Tsukishima he stumbled back and ran out the door after Atsumu, but said boy was ignoring him. He swore that he saw Sakusa smile at him, but he didn't have the strength to think about it as he dropped to his knees in the middle of the doorway. In an instant, Tsukishima was behind him, helping him back up. 

"Hinata, what was that? I thought you were friends?" 

"I– I don't know I didn't mean to say it, it just– against my will I didn't– want to say that. I– I … need to apologise", mumbled Hinata. Then again, louder this time he said "I  _ need to apologise."  _

Watching silent tears drop to the floor, Tsukishima's heart fell. He gently ruffled through Hinata's hair and heaved him back to Suna's bedroom against the other's struggles to be freed. He kicked about himself, but didn't once hit Tsukishima. 

"I would give him time to– … process this, before you go over to him. I feel like he most likely won't listen. He wasn't in the right, but you shouldn't have said that, Hinata", sighed Tsukishima, crouching down and holding himself at balance on Hinata's knees. 

"I didn't mean to… I would never say that to him. Never. You  _ have _ to believe me!" 

"But you just did… I can feel you're right, but it really doesn't make any sense." 

Meanwhile Atsumu was furious. With rage controlling his movements and actions, he rummaged through shelves aggressively. Sakusa was close behind him, trying to calm Atsumu down any way he could. 

"H–Hey, Atsumu. I'm sure he didn't mean it like that, why don't you talk to him..?", Sakusa tried once more, only to be ignored by the other again. Each book falling into his hands that wasn't the Nekoma book was abandoned on the floor soon after. A sigh left Sakusa's lips before he perked up, all of a sudden a red pocket book in his hands. 

"Hey, is this it?", Sakusa waved the small, red book before Atsumu's eyes, snapping him out of his tantrum. Atsumu was pleased to find 'Nekoma' written over the front of the cover. This had to be the book his mother had mentioned. 

"Okay then…", Atsumu started, opening the book to the first page. Beside him, Sakusa was smiling, until Atsumu read out the introduction. The letters seemed old, ancient even, and completely different from all the other fonts Atsumu had seen before. It was elegant and dynamic but heavy at the same time. 

Why would his mom want him to destroy it? Atsumu keen on finding out what he was going to burn to a crisp. Without thinking too hard about it, Atsumu read the first quote out loud, like the cover instructed.

" _ We are like the blood in our veins. We must flow without ever stopping. We must keep the oxygen moving. So that our minds can function at peak efficiency."  _

The two boys took a second to look around, neither of them knowing what to expect or if the thing that was supposed to happen, had happened. Just before Atsumu was about to shrug and set the thing on fire, he and Sakusa were sucked into the book in one fell swoop. Their bodies felt like they were being ripped apart and put back together a million times and their screams of agony were ringing in his ears. Every single muscle in the boy's bodies was aching with such intensity, they couldn't breathe.

Out of nowhere, they roughly landed on hard ground, stomach first. For a good minute, they just lay there, trying to get themselves to move even an inch, but there was no way. Their limbs were as heavy as cement and moving them seemed impossible. After some more time passed, the first one to be able to wiggle his fingers was Sakusa. He held his head, groaning, spitting out some sand he had almost swallowed in the crash landing. 

His eyes searched for Atsumu, but he yelled out in pain at the light he was met with. It was bright, much too bright for his eyes, which were only used to pitch black darkness. Even after another hour of just lying and getting adjusted, his eyes weren't able to get used to the brightness, forcing him to just accept his fate and push through. Sakusa scrambled forward into the general direction he thought Atsumu was in and sighed in relief as he felt the warmth of the wizard next to him, the book right under his nose in the sand. Atsumu seemed to be passed out underneath him, so he waited patiently, since it was not like Sakusa was able to move much himself. Sakusa still couldn't move freely, so he might as well try to relax a bit. 

Minutes passed and on top of them the sand had built a tiny castle. Atsumu felt a sandy breeze against his ear and the prince on his back and rolled over on his side with a groan. His muscles were aching from exhaustion. 

As if he had needed any more excitement for one day. 

Turning to Sakusa, he coughed a little at the dirt that was blowing all around them. Without being able to help it, he touched his hand to the boy's cheek, examining his shut eyes in concern. Since he had always just been in the dark, it must hurt terribly to be confronted with daylight, but Atsumu could only guess from the pained expression of the other. From the looks of it, Sakusa was sleeping, but his eyebrows were knitted. Atsumu flattered the wrinkles with his thumb and sighed before looking around.

_ Wait. Daylight? Where are– _

" **_Who goes there_ ** _? _ ", an unfamiliar voice asked alarmed, followed by a slap and an exaggerated "Ow!!" 

"You know who it is, why the fuck would you ask? Stop being so dramatic, gosh, I barely touched you." 

Sakusa awoke and suddenly scrambled to his feet, sensing the presence of a few other people– Well, creatures. Atsumu followed suit and rubbed his eyes, in an attempt to get the debris out. When he cared to take a peak, he had expected to see other wizards, or at least human beings. What he found standing a few meters away from him were– cats. 

There were 7 of them in total along with one wolf, quietly sitting in line and watching the boys as they tried to collect themselves. The wolf and one particularly small orange cat moved to the middle of a circle the other felines had built around them. None of them were closing them in too much, but it was still a situation Atsumu would rather not be in.

His mother's words crossed Atsumu's mind and he gently pulled Sakusa's sleeve to get him to pay attention to his discovery. Sakusa couldn't make out much in the brightness, so he whispered to Atsumu, asking him what was going on, to which Atsumu pointed to the animals and face palmed himself as he remembered Sakusa wasn't able to see it. The blonde shrugged before walking up to the cats and tugging the prince by the collar, earning a startled yelp.

"There's cats… and a wolf", Atsumu mumbled into the other's ear, placing his hand like a shield to hide his mouth from the creatures. Since they had no idea where they were or who these cats were, they might as well be careful. What if the cats could read their lips? There was no telling what might happen. The only thing he noticed was the hot air from his mouth had made Sakusa visibly shiver and he grinned a little at the reaction. Atsumu himself was shocked at the fact that he was happy about making Sakusa turn red, but the wizard certainly had more important things to worry about. 

_ Focus, idiot _ he told himself. 

One of the cats, distinctively smaller than the rest, licked its paw before rubbing it's cheek against the wolf's sides, scent marking it, and slowly approached the two boys. It was staring them down intensely, big brown eyes very cute, but also a dangerous glint in them.

"Wh–what's it doing? I–I can feel it moving!!", stammered Sakusa, upon hearing the loudest purr from the tiny cat. Atsumu giggled lightly, but quickly covered it up with a cough, crouching down and holding out his hand for the cat to sniff on. 

"Have you never seen a cat? It wants to say hello. Let it smell you, that's the first step to gaining it's trust. Maybe they can help us." 

Purring, the kitten dug its snout into Atsumu's palm, making the side of his mouth twitch up into a smile. Sakusa on the other hand was not cooperating. Shaking, it was just more obvious Sakusa was fearing the small furry creature. Atsumu silently snickered. He couldn't imagine Sakusa had never seen a cat before, but then again, Atsumu didn't know a thing about Sakusa aside from the fact that he was a prince; and even that was a fact he only found out through other means. Living the royal life the boy had spent most of his days in the palace. The thought alone made Atsumu's smile fade. Do princes have friends? Pets? Is that… allowed? Even if it was prohibited, Atsumu would have tried to slip past the rules as much as possible, but there was doubt in his mind as to the fact if Sakusa had it in him to do such.

When he held out his hand for the cat to smell it was only, because Atsumu forcibly held him, taking the boy's hand against his will. Upon being at smelling distance the animal immediately hissed at him, flaring it's teeth at the prince. At that, the wolf ran over to them, grabbed the cat by its red collar and scoffed, blowing hot air out of its wet nose, with a much too annoyed expression over it's animalistic features. One of its ears was flinching up and back down again. Something wasn't right. That would be it, just like that it would be over for Sakusa. 

Sakusa was about to yell out, when all the cats began to creep their way closer to them, step by step. He couldn't quite see it, but he felt the dreadful pressure in the air. The only sound that escaped the dark haired boy's mouth was a whine as he wrapped his arms around Atsumu, squeezing their bodies flush together. Atsumu just rolled his eyes a little, with the tiniest bit of fondness in his smile across his features, and closely observed the cats around him. There were two black ones, one lucky 3 colored cat, one with a blonde stripe on its mostly brown fur, the orange one and two gray ones with one tall and one rather small, short legged cat. 

Their eyes pierced through Atsumu and the cat's intense stares made him severally uncomfortable, if the tight embrace of the prince wasn't anything to go by already. Was he supposed to do something? Were they analyzing him?

"The tall one is–", started the orange cat, eyeing Sakusa suspiciously. It was cut off by the wolf, who let the cat fall onto its paws as he opened his mouth. The tiny creature hissed at the wolf and bit into its front leg, but it didn't seem to bother or feel it at all, shaking the cat off like it was a bothersome fly.

"It's okay. He doesn't seem dangerous, let's see how this plays out..and stop nibbling on my leg! We've been over this!" 

Needless to say, Atsumu had never been more confused in his entire life while Sakusa's jaw hit the floor. 

  
  
*  
  


Back in Suna's room, the boys were comforting Hinata as best as they could, right after they had heard a loud crash and found Atsumu and Sakusa nowhere to be seen. Hinata was surrounded by teddy bears, wrapped up in blankets and lay cuddled up on Tsukishima's legs. The only thing visible were his trembling lips and even that made him angry. Even though he felt safe around Tsukishima and he was sure the boy wouldn't think less of him after witnessing him being this upset, Hinata was also angry with himself more than anything else.

Tsukishima tried to assure Hinata that he wasn't even paying attention to him and that if he wanted to cry, he could do so to his heart's content, but the smaller one refused. The hand running through his hair was another reason for his stubborn pout, but at the same time it was a silent encouragement. After a long silence Hinata emerged from his avalanche of plushies and comforters, rubbing his sore eyes. He sniffed one last time, wiping his nose with the back of his hand and turned to look at Tsukishima. 

"Do you feel better now?" 

"A little. I'm fine now." 

Tsukishima pulled Hinata into a comforting hug for only a short moment before grabbing his face with both of his hands. The skin was warm and rough, dried tear streaks still there. 

"Good", said Tsukishima. "That's good." 

He looked around to see if any of his fellow moon wizards were paying attention, but found the two of them softly snoring as they were taking a nap on the carpet. 

_ Your lost twin is missing and you sleep?  _

When Hinata leaned into his touch to get the boy's eyes back to him, Tsukishima felt his ears burn. 

"Thank you, Tsukki." 

He held his breath, rubbing circles on Hinata's cheeks with his thumbs. As he released the air, it tickled Hinata's nose. 

"Don't mention it, pipsqueak. Now go wash your face."

Hours passed and Osamu and Suna were busy with their own things, trying to figure out how to contact Zota after their nap. 

The sudden disappearance had put them on edge more than they would admit. Not knowing when or why the next person might vanish into thin air was stressful.

Unfortunately they didn't have any objects on them that belonged to his father and they went to find some in what used to be Osamu's home. Now in the place where once stood a beautiful house was rubble and ashes. There was nothing left. 

Osamu insisted he was fine, but Suna knew he felt all sorts of emotions. Going through the leftovers of the place he once called home only to find nothing useful was like a punch in his gut. 

They had returned empty–handed and in their frustration they ate together before falling asleep in the comfort of the other. 

In the end it wasn't necessary anymore. The lot of them jumped out of their skins when a magic circle engulfed the floor in a gentle glow, out of nowhere. Blue light shone through the gaps in the wood and Osamu quietly gasped, his eyes recognizing the magic.

"Someone is trying to talk to us!? How do you take the call?", Hinata burst out, what had Tsukishima chuckle under his breath, saying that it wasn't exactly a call in that sense. The boy started rambling about the theory of sorcery and Hinata looked at him with a blank face. The orange haired boy grabbed Tsukishima by the collar, pulled him down and pressed a small peck on his lips. 

"Shut up." 

Distracting him wasn't all too hard, it seemed, because Tsukishima was deadly silent after that. The blonde gestured to Osamu, who walked up to the circle, kneeling down in front of it. Smoothly and quite slowly, he moved his hands over the circle until they had a full picture of the caller conjured up like a hologram.

"Dad!!"

"Son! I'm so glad you picked up, listen! That last call, that wasn't your mother! The king suddenly shifted to look like her and took the call in her place! Where is Atsumu, did he destroy the book? The information he got was wrong!", the man hurriedly coughed out. His hair was long and black, some parts already graying out due to age and stress. It fell over his shoulders like silk and his beard made him look parental, like the ultimate dad. His eyes were cold but kind, just like Osamu's. Nevertheless, they were tired, much like Zota was. Eyebags as deep and sorrowful as these, Hinata had never seen anything like it. 

"H–he– he just vanished, but he's– he's not alone, prince Kiyoomi went with him and– oh no. Oh no, oh no! If the king is bad, then that means– ... the prince must be bad, too! And he's 'Tsumus soulmate!", Osamu grit his teeth in anger, but stopped when he felt Suna's hand on his neck. It was the most comforting thing the other could do and calmed Osamu down, but his teeth were still churning. The two of them weren't the biggest talkers out there, so small affections like these were just the right thing. 

"We don't know that. For now, we have to trust him. He didn't seem like the smartest guy, too. Explain where they went and give us the right information and we'll be sure to get it to them somehow. Atsumu needs to know about this possible thread", stated Suna.

_ What he's gonna do with it is his own decision. _

As much as he wasn't convincing himself, everyone else started second guessing. None of them knew much about the prince. It could very well be the case that the prince had no idea about his father's antics, but there was no way for them to tell now. 

"How can I know  _ you  _ are dad? Maybe mom was the real one, but you're trying to throw me off, huh?" 

"You have a hickey right on the back of your neck where you can't see it, but just where Suna would reach. Young man, how dare you take my son's virginity without my blessings?", Zota raised one eyebrow, his arms crossed. He was eyeing Suna in a very playful, but stern, father–like way. 

"Sorry, Sir. It won't happen again, take my word for it." 

While Suna bowed his head, being as unironic as anyone could get, Tsukishima looked away, trying to hold in his laughter. Eyes closed, Osamu sighed, agreeing that the person they were looking at was indeed his father. Bashfully, he covered his neck. 

"The woman– or, well– the.. shifter? It told Atsumu to destroy a book called Nekoma, but when they went to finish it we heard a loud noise and when we checked on them they were gone." 

Zota inhaled a sharp breath, letting go of it in relief. He rubbed his hands all over his face, massaging his temples in the process, mumbling "That's good, yes. That's good. They are on their way to Nekoma." 

"Okay", started Zota,"Here's what we're gonna do." 

  
*  
  
  
  


"Hey, uh. I'm no expert, but I don't think  _ cats are supposed to  _ **_talk_ ** !!", yelled Sakusa, squeezing Atsumu so tight, he felt like his guts would spill out his lips any second. 

"And I still can't see, my eyes are burning!" 

Ignoring Sakusa's condition skillfully, Atsumu continued. "Have you  _ ever _ heard of familiars? They can talk, too. But I doubt that all these cats are familiars. And about your eyes– uhm. I'm sure we'll figure something out", answered Atsumu, smiling lopsidedly. He tried to mask his annoyance, but it still managed to shine through in his rushed tone. 

_ Why am I trying to hide it? He's annoying! I can let him know! _

After taking a deep breath, Atsumu slipped out of Sakusa grasp, ignoring his pleas to come back to him. He locked eyes with the feline that hissed at Sakusa just a moment prior, waiting for it to do something, anything at all. Unblinking, the cat reincorporated the stare down.

"Identify yourselfs", was what it said, tail whipping behind it in distress. It almost made Atsumu smile, knowing that just like humans, animals had small indications that gave away emotions and how plainly seen it was the cat was scared or at the very least alarmed.

"I–I'm prince Kiyoomi Sakusa from the moon kingdom. And this is my soulmate Atsumu– uh– ", Sakusa inhaled before he noticed he had forgotten the rest, scratching the back of his neck in thought. It took every last bit of restraint Atsumu had in his body to not simply kick Sakusa hard enough for him to forget his own name.

"Miya. It's Atsumu. Miya. And I am  _ not  _ your soulmate! I'm–! … Uh, you see, I don't really know what I am, but what I  _ do _ know is that my mother doesn't want me to be here. Amalia Miya, sun witch, you probably never heard of her– why am I telling you this, I am literally talking to a stray cat." 

"I'm not a stray!", the small animal hissed. The wolf's tail began to wag a little at the mention of an old friend, making the small cat snicker. "Hard time controlling your tail, Sir?" 

Atsumu watched the tail faltering around as the wolf tried to contain its happiness, probably embarrassed about being called out like this.

"Shut the hell your mouth, I'm excited, okay?", said the wolf to the cat. "Besides, you're excited, too. You just don't have a tail that loves betraying you all the damn time!" 

The wolf jogged up to Atsumu, sniffing his hands before giving it a small lick of approval. It made Atsumu chuckle in response, giving it a light pet on the head to get the saliva off. His smile only widened when the animal leaned into his touch, seemingly enjoying the gesture. 

"Would you be so kind to hold out your hand to me, Kiyoomi?", the wolf asked with its gravel voice. It sounded neither rushed nor annoyed. Patience seemed to be one of its strong suits, Atsumu presumed, thinking back to the nibbling of the small cat. 

The prince was shaking when Atsumu grabbed his wrist, trying to force him to just let the damn dog smell his hand, to which he responded with "N–noo! No! He's gonna bite me, I know it! The cat already hates meeee…!" 

"I do not hate you", clarified the feline,"I just don't like the smell of lies and cowardice." 

"What's that supposed to mean…?", Atsumu wondered. Right when he thought it was hopeless, Sakusa suddenly relaxed. He let himself be sniffed and licked by the big, black wolf and wiped his hand on the back of his pants. 

"Eugh, disgusting, ani– I mean, wolf saliva." 

"Follow me, please", announced another feline, whose fur was tinted in a very dark brown. It was bigger than most of the other cats around them, but not necessarily taller. The cat's eyes held such kindness, Atsumu was almost relieved to take Sakusa's hand in his to guide him, following these strangers to Emi knows where. 

"Why are we following them?", whisper–shouted Sakusa to Atsumu. 

"We somehow ended up in the middle of nowhere and these cats know how to find civilization. Do you have a better idea?" 

Pouting, Sakusa continued walking, while he held onto Atsumu's robe like a little duckling following its mother. It was unbearably hot, even in October. 

The asteria desert stretched itself far over the land and was a center point for most magical creatures, for orientation. It connected many tribes and kingdoms such as the former eclipse kingdom, Nekoma, Shiratorizawa and Inarizaki. If you knew in what compass direction your goal was, it was nothing more than a march through the desert. Most would travel at night, when the glaring sun disappeared over the horizon and a cold breeze blew. In their case, none of them wanted to wait until nightfall, so they suffered the long march, sweating excessively.

A short while of walking in and the wolf jogged up next to Atsumu, looking up at him pointedly. There seemed to be something on its mind, but putting into words wasn't easy. Atsumu presumed he could make the first step. 

Reincorporating the gaze, Atsumu looked down the distance between them. "What are your names, if I may ask?" 

"We'll tell you in a bit. It feels weird introducing myself in this form", laughed the wolf, licking its nose and huffing, tongue out to keep the temperature balanced.

Gripping even tighter to Atsumu's fingers, Sakusa tensed. All his muscles stiffened and he wasn't in any walking condition anymore. It reminded Atsumu of the fact, some people, when scared, froze in fear. Maybe Sakusa was scared all of a sudden. But why? A delayed reaction? 

"C–Can we stop for a moment? My–... companion doesn't seem to be feeling all too well…", Atsumu managed to cough out as he stumbled when Sakusa's stiff grip on his sleeve pulled him back.

Jolting up at being addressed, the boy turned a bright shade of pink in embarrassment and annoyance. He, however, insisted to keep walking, stating that he was fine and could take it, whatever he meant by 'It'. 

Quietly, not meant for the other creatures to hear, Sakusa begged Atsumu for them to return, where he could see, where he was safe. Not knowing what strangers close to him were capable of was a big mistake of his he never had the chance to calculate, and he knew exactly who had caused it. It hurt and now he understood what Hinata felt. Only was it his fault. 

This was his first food for thought and it wouldn't be the last.

"We're almost there. When we arrive, we can get our healer to take a look at your eyes, is that alright witcha?", one of the cats explained. It was the one with the yellow stripe between its ears. One of the two ears was partly bitten off, while the other had a tiny, golden ring, which went right through it. Strange fashion for cats, but who was Atsumu to judge? Maybe it had something to do with skill or tradition? 

"Sure, thank you." 

When they entered a forest and left the sand behind them, it started to get a little chilly, the heat of the desert like a distant memory. 

"This way", the wolf spoke, sitting down next to an enormous tree trunk. "Hop on and then jump." 

Atsumu didn't get a chance to ask why in Emi's name he should do that, when the wolf demonstrated. It stretched, sprang onto the trunk and pounced. Like it was being swallowed, the wolf's frame disappeared. 

"Woah!", Atsumu marveled. "There's an invisible shield!!" 

Doing the same as the wolf with Sakusa right beside him, the wizard jumped through the protection barrier. He laughed, grinning at the tingly feeling it sent through his limbs.

Not after long, Atsumu spotted civilization. It didn't remind him of home at all, but it also didn't seem unwelcoming. In the distance, there were people and animals alike going about their day, in a small town. It had everything needed to survive and lead a normal, happy life. A giant lake not far off, working townspeople, running shops as well as bungalows to house in. It had a suburban feeling to it, but that made it all the better. Tons and tons of flowers and bushes gave it a nice aesthetic. All in all, it was a nice place to live at. 

They passed some people standing guard at what seemed to be the gates to the courtyard, who smiled at the wolf, scratching it behind the ears, only for the tiny cat to scoff. The wolf grinned and licked the petite feline's face, with which he was rewarded a loud purr. 

Had it not been for the cat's leading them this way, Atsumu wasn't sure if he would have even been able to find the entrance at all. He had definitely felt a veil of magic, but didn't recognize the source, assuming one of the people he had just met were responsible for it. Finally inside, the townspeople (most likely royal servants, Atsumu assumed) greeted the animals that brought them there. It was then that it started to get a little weird, even for wizards. 

Arriving at their destination in one of the bigger bungalows close to the castle, most of the cats left through tiny doors designed for them or simply jumped out of the windows. Atsumu turned his attention to the remaining cats and sighed. 

"Okay, can you please tell us  _ where we are? _ ", Atsumu questioned once more. He was told to sit down, but he was on too high alert to allow himself to let his guard down. His grip on Sakusa's hand got a bit tighter, earning himself a tiny squeeze from him. It felt oddly reassuring. Like a small reminder he wasn't alone.

"You two–", grinned the wolf,"–are in Nekoma. Let us introduce ourselves." 

Almost not believing their eyes, the boys watched as the wolf and the cat turned into humans. In the process of the transformation, the cat and wolf moved to stand behind the couch, before too much of their skin was visible. After the transformation was complete, the two men that stood before them were butt naked. On the couch lay clothing, which they eagerly pulled on, in an all too practiced routinely manner. The pieces of clothing looked mighty different from Atsumu's own, something usually worn by warriors and people who fought and hunted, defending their home. Instead of concentrating solely on practicality, they managed to also look fashionable, tight and fitting. 

"I–", started the tall, black haired man, "–am Tetsurou Kuroo. Pleased to make your acquaintance." 

His shoulders were broad, but his waist was tiny. He was about two heads taller than the boy beside him, what might have been even more severe, due to his terrible haircut. His long legs were slender, but strong, as he stepped in front of the couch. He sent a wink over to Sakusa and Atsumu, with a smile; much to his partners dismay. The other introduced himself, with a satisfied grin at stepping on Tetsurou's feet, entirely on purpose. Tetsurou bit his lip hard, refusing to admit how much it really hurt and played it cool. 

"And I'm his husband, Morisuke Kuroo." 

Only then Atsumu noticed their matching ear–piercings and the chokers with what looked like wedding rings hanging from them. Betrothal necklaces. 

"We are old friends of your mother, Amalia. Let's go heal your friend and talk about why you are here. It's finally time", Morisuke spoke gently. He walked out in front, marching proudly with his husband following close behind, a fond smile on his lips. 

"Grab your blind prince friend by the paw, we're visiting Kenma", grinned Tetsurou over his shoulder to Atsumu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes kuroyaku are married and hey are soulmates, they just don't get markings and such but I promise they are endlessly in love.   
> Thanks again to JaegerManu and Miss_Troublmaker, your coments made me really happy and motivated me c:  
> Till next week, your Tetsu   
> ps, you can find me on twitter at tetsuu_art,, come chat with me maybe


	8. The Sunset Is New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Kenma!! Plus Sakusa flirts shamelessly and Atsumu is very irritated by it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some good Sakuatsu between the whole plot stuff, enjoy :> If you squint real hard there is also kentorafuku

_October 5th_

"Who's Kenma?", Sakusa asked in fear. He made grabby hands in the direction he thought the voices were coming from. Unfortunately, he was facing a wall. With a sleepy sigh, Atsumu took hold of one of Sakusas poofy sleeves and dragged him along. Rubbing his eyes, he mumbled something about 'there's a wall' and 'watch out for the steps', as they marched out.

After they exited the desert where it was no longer unbearably hot, Atsumu's clothes had mostly dried. No longer sticking to him heavily the way they had before, he had a little more space to breathe in the fresh air. 

Atsumu didn't know if he could believe that these strangers knew his mother somehow, but as he followed them, he kept his mouth shut. 

Just on the other side of the street was a small shop, a wooden cabin, overgrown with plants of all sorts. The door was open, but streamers made of vines were dangling from the frame. Inside sat a rather young boy, Atsumu thought they must be about the same age, who was busying himself with some kind of toy. 

"Kenma! Put that mortal thing down, it's so odd. You have a patient; moon prince who has never seen the light of day was confronted by the real sun and now he's– well, he's kinda blind. Mind helping out?", Kuroo played with his ear-piercing as he stepped over to ruffle the boy's hair. It didn't seem like the boy responded to any of this, but a few seconds later he blinked, sighing something about having to water plants, while he pushed a few strands out of his eyes.

It was dyed blonde like Atsumu's, but the black roots were emerging again. With a bored expression, Kenma turned to examine Sakusa silently. He mumbled, barely opening his mouth, as he told Sakusa to take a seat and placed his rectangular thingy down on the counter, setting it on standby.

Without trying to startle the boy, Morisuke let his hand rest on Atsumu's shoulder, telling him that it would be best if they waited outside and talked, while they let Kenma do his job. "He needs silence", Morisuke insisted, but it was a little hard for Atsumu to part from Sakusa. Morisuke assured him the prince was in good hands and after another place, he gave in. 

Behind the cottage, Morisuke sat down on an old tree stump and motioned for the wizard to do the same on the one opposing him.

"You must have many, many questions, but before you start, let me tell you what I know." 

Atsumu opened his mouth to protest, his pointer in the air, but sat down cross–legged, ready to listen first. He gripped his knees. Morisuke looked at him and before he began, he took a big breath.

"We here in Nekoma are a tribe of Animagus. There are many different tribes of Animagus, but we'll get to that later. Before you were born, your mother and father, Amalia and Zota, were close friends of ours. In fact, the eclipse kingdom was the heart of our magical world. Before the war had broken out, all kinds of witches, wizards,  _ anyone _ was welcomed there. One day, it was attacked by very dangerous creatures–… shapeshifters. They lived far off, away from civilization by themselves, but as soon as they had come, they left again. Your home was sealed off to the rest of the world and then I got word from your parents that you and your twin brother had arrived. Your mother can't remember everything that had taken place perfectly, but we did keep in touch to talk and keep updated. No one left the place for the last 20 years, all Portkeys we're destroyed and all eclipse wizards were taken captive. You see, shapeshifters aren't only able to change their appearance at will, but also possess strong mind controlling powers and magic. Kuroo and I figured that most adults like your parents and me were put under a spell and… I'm sure you know the rest." 

Atsumu took a moment to let the information sink in. 

"So that book, it was a key? To get here?" 

Morisuke grimaced. "As much of an unconventional arrival present it is, your mother wanted to make sure you wound up here one way or another." 

"–Oh." Wide eyed and licking his lips Atsumu looked around the forest. It was quiet and peaceful.

"Is something the matter?" 

"I–… I trust you and I believe you, oddly enough. Please let me ask you something", Atsumu stared right into the animagus' eyes, waiting. When the man nodded, Atsumu breathed out. 

"They came looking for me and our house– it looked like she had fought with them. She is gone, but her staff–" 

"I figured. When I saw you with her staff, I knew something had probably happened."

"Yeah", Atsumu almost sobbed," They got her. I tried to contact her and she told me to destroy the book. Why would she do that?" 

"It probably wasn't her. The shapeshifters have the ability to look just like her, sound like her. They know it's important for you to be here and try to prevent it, but they do not know where to find us thanks to your father and Kenma. You see, shapeshifters can't use portkeys."

Breathing hard, Atsumu licked his dry lips, chewing on them a little. "So it's useless in their hands… Can you explain why? Why it's important, I mean." 

"Yes. Well, as I was saying, your parents probably got parts of their memory erased, so they might not remember the reason for sending you here and I didn't talk to them in a while, but shapeshifters only got so much power. Do you remember other people acting strange?" 

He remembered hating every teacher, guard and adult he met and all of them being persistently ridiculous about anything at all. Nodding his head, Atsumu silently agreed with Morisuke's words.

"I recall all of them being… simple minded, not that–.. complex." 

"Right. You also need to know that the sun and moon you  _ think _ you have in your kingdoms? Those aren't real. It's what's causing your markings to be–", he stopped, gently grabbing Atsumu's arm and shoving his sleeve up, revealing his split marking,"– like this. Though we do not understand how the shifters pulled that off." 

Morisuke waited for a reaction, but when Atsumu only stared at the still reddish ink on his arm, the man elaborated. "As long as that barrier divides you and keeps you shut out from the rest of the world and your real power sources, your markings will remain this way. You are made weaker like that. It's a discord for your magic" Morisuke said this in confidence, but it would only be a matter of time before finding out he wasn't entirely correct. 

"But–… why? Why are they doing this?" 

"We assume they want power. They tried to take it, but that ended in the wrath of the spirits. It took them many centuries to recover from that and it seemed like they thought if they can't take power for themselves–", the man's calloused fingers ran over the marking absentmindedly,"–then everybody else wasn't allowed to have any either." 

There seemed to be more to Morisuke's words he was willing to admit, but Atsumu ignored this until it came up in a later conversation. Slowly but surely, Atsumu started to understand. Ashamed of his marking he recovered his arm, holding his sleeve in his palm so it wouldn't slide off by itself. Morisuke gave him time to think for a second, which he was most grateful for.

Everyone had told him that time was short and it stressed Atsumu greatly, taking a big toll on his body. Fatigue was making his movements sluggish, he noticed, now that he had a moment to sit down and think. His eyelids almost fell shut.

"We'll explain the rest tomorrow… The sun is about to set. It's time for dinner and– no offense, but you could stand to take a bath", lopsidedly smiled the man, standing up while dusting his back off. 

"Your sun… set's? What's that mean?", asked Atsumu, now completely lost. 

Morisukes expression changed and a pitiful sigh escaped him. Right, that's new to him. 

"The real sun shines at all times, but it changes location with the moon in a never ending cycle. In the day, the sun is shining high in the sky. At night, it's dark and the moon is in its place. So when I say 'The sun is about to set' I mean the moon and sun are switching places, though it takes a few hours depending on the season." 

"I see." Atsumu said this, not knowing what any of this meant, but he was sure finding out about it wouldn't be the hardest thing ever.

Smelling himself after a tick of quiet, Atsumu looked down at himself in disgust. "You're right, I'm dirty… Can we do anything to help?" 

Morisuke was delighted by Atsumu's politeness and good behavior, silently praising Amalia for having raised a wonderful son. However, he kindly declined the offer and told Atsumu to follow Tetsurou to their new quarters. As Atsumu made his way back into the cottage, he wondered how long their stay would be, if they were even given their own bedrooms. 

Back inside, Atsumu found Kenma looking extremely irritated, brows furrowed deeply. It was a big contrast to his previous indifference. Sakusa was seated next to the boy, playing with his fingers. His feet, which didn't touch the ground, dangling back and forth. His eyes, he kept closed, but the rustling of the vines must have been loud enough for him to notice someone was entering the shop. He twitched up, but a moment after faced the door in the hopes it was Atsumu. 

To his luck, he felt the blonde's hand on his own. Silently swooning at the eagerness of the prince, he bit down on his lip hard, to prevent himself from making any embarrassing noise; though it did make him angry that he couldn't quite explain his need to hold back. 

"Are you alright? How is he, Kenma?" 

The boy in question pinched the bridge of his nose while he read through an old dusty book, flipping the pages passive aggressively. It was annoying him greatly to not immediately be able to help the prince, when he was known for his superb healing abilities. Without letting his eyes leave the book at all, Kenma responded with a heavy breath leaving his nostrils.

"I've never come across anything like this. For now, I can reduce the pain, but he won't be able to see at all.  _ Forever _ . I need some special ingredients to try and mix a remedy that might work to make him at least see a little, but it's unlikely. Fukunaga and Tora will go get them first thing in the morning." 

"...Never? You mean, I'm– I'm blind?" 

This took Atsumu by surprise. He had no idea it would be so severe. Never seeing again? That was, by all means, a big deal. 

"It's not as bad as you may think. Fukunaga for example is deaf. You will find your way around it. I'm  _ pretty sure _ ." 

Sakusa tensed at the sharp edge in Kenma's tone. So he could tell. All of them could.

Nodding, not thinking about the fact Sakusa couldn't see him, Atsumu squeezed the others hand, as if reassuring him that it would be okay again. Sakusa visibly relaxed into his seat in response and Kenma grabbed his staff, holding it up to the blinded boy. 

The prince felt the cold stone at the top of it against his forehead, smooth and healing. It felt good, even more so as Kenma cast a spell on him, taking away the burning pain in his eyes. A big sigh of relief left Sakusa's lips, along with the tension in his muscles and he opened his eyes, to be greeted with a very, very blurry view. It was casted in a few strong colors, but it was mostly grey, dark. Everything was out of focus, not quite right. All he could make out were blobs. It gave him a headache and before he could do any more damage, he shut them again. 

"Is this better?", questioned Kenma indifferently, but his tone was still very persistent. It wasn't like Kenma didn't care if his patients felt better after his treatment. He was used to praise, used to everything working out just the way he wanted, that he looked for ways to challenge himself, mostly in the form of objects from different dimensions, like his game console. But now there sat a creature before him, blinded from circumstances he couldn't comprehend and Kenma was unable to help. The boy didn't expect to be thanked, that's just how royalty was, no matter where they are from. 

"It doesn't hurt anymore, but I still can't see." 

Kenma sighed. "Look, i tried my best and will continue to do so, but–" 

Sakusa interrupted. "Thank you for your help, I appreciate your efforts…" 

Flinching at the polite choice of words, Kenma just rubbed his wrists, giving a curt nod. Crouching down, he blew air onto a black cat, which was curled up on the floor, quietly taking a nap. It started moving as it felt the breeze, looked up at Kenma and licked it's left paw before stretching, yawning. Reaching out it's paw, the black cat placed it on Kenma's cheek, touching their noses together. The boy started motioning and gesturing to the cat. It was impossible for Atsumu to read the emotions on Kenma's face as he did so. The cat nodded in response before running out, leaving the sound of the rustling vines behind. 

"Who was that?", asked Atsumu, tilting his head to the side in confusion. While Kenma packed away his things, he turned to face Atsumu, but not before taking a cautious glance at Sakusa. For a split second it had looked like Kenma was suspicious. Morisuke had been, too. Atsumu faced Sakusa, asking himself what it was about the prince that made the others so wary. He just sat there, looping one of his inky locks around a slender finger.

"That was Fukunaga. He is deaf, so we found other ways to communicate. He is not easily startled, but blowing on him is better to get his attention than banging on the floor or something. He's telling Tora about their next mission." 

Grabbing the weird rectangular thing again, music emerged from it as he clicked a few buttons at random; that's what Atsumu thought at the very least. He went back to playing quietly and didn't even budge when someone new entered the shop. 

Morisuke greeted them with a smile and led the wizards to their own bungalow, located in the outer ring of the town. The boys waved Kenma goodbye and followed Morisuke, hands intertwined. It was close enough to the small castle for emergencies. Shops as well as the market were just a five minute walk away. The two were left alone to relax a bit before it was time to eat. They had been told they would be informed when dinner was ready. 

The bungalow was beautiful and simple. The sun's last sunbeams shone through the tall windows, tinting the furniture in a warm orange. A soft breeze made its way inside, making the blue curtains dance in the wind and Atsumu stared in awe as the sun started to disappear behind the horizon. It reminded the two boys of home, yet, Atsumu and Sakusa couldn't feel further from home than ever. 

What even  _ was _ home now? Neither of them could place it. All there was, was a distant memory. 

To his own personal horror, Atsumu had found a single bed in the middle of the bedroom as he went ahead and looked around. Sure, it was big enough to hold the two of them without getting entangled, but he didn't want to share a bed, even less with Sakusa. That was out of the question. He didn't even know him for a day and already had to share everything with him? It was like Morisuke wanted to get him and Sakusa closer. On top of that, every other creature didn't trust Sakusa? That didn't sit right with Atsumu. 

The boy dug his nails into the side of his arm, chewing his lips deep in thought as he stared at the two piles of clothing that were neatly stacked on the pillows. On the right side, red was a more frequent color in the outfits, while on the left side most of the clothes were simply black. Sakusa did look good in black… but that's beside the point. They could switch clothes if they wanted. 

_ I've been so concerned for him this whole time, but now that I actively notice he's cute I flip out! I hate this. He's not cute. He has a nice, but annoying face. ANNOYING I TELL YOU!! _

"Did you find the bedrooms?", Sakusa yelled out from where he was frozen in place in the doorway. A grey cat had made its way into their bungalow, meowing and hissing at Sakusa like Morisuke had before, making the boy unable to move even an inch. He really wasn't good with cats, Atsumu noticed. 

He thought about his suspicions against Sakusa, but it could also just be that animals didn't like him very much. They were all cats, after all. 

"I– uh… yeah! There's clothes for us, too! Let's change and get to dinner, I really wanna shower…", he yelled back, loud enough for Sakusa to hear, but the rest he mumbled to himself, swallowing some of the syllables on the way. It was obvious they couldn't show up to dinner in their own clothes, which probably already started smelling like sweat.

With quick steps Atsumu went to get Sakusa and pulled him to the bedroom, away from the cat, pushing him to sit down on the bed roughly. He grabbed the clothes on the pillowcase and before he got rid of his clothes, he noticed Sakusa staring at him. He hesitated, lowering his hands again. "Don't look." 

"Huh? I can't even see, Atsumu." 

"I don't care", he answered dryly, "Look away, it feels wrong if you stare at me or– through me like that. Just get changed, too." 

Atsumu turned his back to Sakusa and began peeling out of his clothes. Tossing his dirty clothes to the side, he looked down at himself. His necklace was still tinted in a beautiful green shade and he sighed. Was it a peridot? Or was it emerald? He couldn't quite tell, even though Amalia made him study all this. It could be a different kind of stone, after all.

He ripped his eyes away from the gem. Quickly, Atsumu took off his pants and put on the pair that had been given to him so generously. Tweaking and pulling here and there, it soon became really comfortable to move in. It was held in a black and red color palette, black belts tight around the waist and stretchy pants, easy to move around in. Just the way Atsumu enjoyed it.

The wizard groaned upon noticing that Sakusa had been watching him the entire time and turned to jab his finger against the other's chest, a weird sound erupting from it.

"Didn't I tell you to get dressed, too?" 

"I can't see, remember? At least help me…", complained the prince, tone all whiny and annoying, purposely trying to tick Atsumu off. He did know that it was all intentional. When Atsumu turned red, punching Sakusa in the ribs in embarrassment, the prince knew he would succeed.

"Ow, shit, fuck! Ow, Atsumu what–!" 

"What do you mean help you!? I'm not undressing you!", Atsumu yelped, arms crossed. Sakusa coughed, holding his stomach and groaning in pain. 

"I didn't– I didn't even say that! What I meant was if you could hand me the clothes so I don't wear it the wrong way! O–o–ow, your punch is hard…" 

Atsumu stilled, unblinking. He wasn't sure where to put his hands, standing there like a creep. "O–Oh."

"Yeah." 

"Well, uhm. S–Sure." 

Sakusa sighed, a bit less encouraged each time Atsumu pushed him away and held him at an arm's length. For some reason he couldn't explain it, but it hurt him deep inside. He did his best ignoring it, like usually, since it was in his favor, but it made his stomach churn. It seemed like no matter how hard Sakusa tried to make Atsumu dislike him, he managed to get the opposite effect.

Without caring if Atsumu saw him or not, Sakusa began to strip. This exactly made the blonde turn around in embarrassment, which gave Sakusa the chance to quickly hide the piece of paper, which he had taken from one of the library's books, under the pillow. It was a bit straining on his shoulders, they hurt from the fall earlier, but he managed just fine. After a good night's rest he would feel good as new. 

He stopped in his tracks when he heard a choked sound escape Atsumu's mouth. Shirtless, his royal trousers hanging low on his hips, Sakusa glanced at Atsumu. All he saw was a blob of red, black and a little blonde when he squinted.

"What is it?", he asked quietly, brushing the hair out of his face quickly, squinting even harder, in a lethal attempt to see. When he didn't get a response he licked his lips nervously

"Atsumu?" It didn't help as much as he had hoped, but he thought he could see fragments of Atsumu with one hand over his mouth. Most probably not. 

"Are you..  _ blushing _ ?", Sakusa asked in amusement, inching closer to the other boy's face, who was most certainly turning even redder at the proximity. He started smiling from ear to ear, moving even closer to him, making Atsumu back away in hesitant steps. Sakusa wanted to know for sure and had to rely on other senses.

"N–No! I'm– NO stop! What are you doing?!" 

A few steps more and soon Atsumu's back was pressed against the wall of the bungalow, with no way to escape. Sakusa was just inches from his face when he started groping away on the wall behind him and on Atsumu's torso, feeling instead of seeing as he tried to reach Atsumu's face, without poking his eye in the process.

Mumbling a short 'There you are', Sakusa smiled tenderly, caging the wizard. Atsumu wanted to shriek, but there was not a single sound leaving his throat, so he swallowed the saliva in his mouth instead. The fingers on his hips tickled him as they felt the boy, trying to find out where he was exactly; which way he was facing. 

"I'm trying to see your handsome face. I thought if I get closer I might… see better…", but that was a lie. His hands lingered way too long, hesitating to move away. The cold of Sakusa's fingertips against Atsumu's hot stomach and cheek was tickling, a weird sensation.

Sakusa's hands left the wizard's body quickly upon realizing this mistake of his, leaning them on either side of his face. In the human world, this would have been called a 'Kabedon', but the two boys had no idea about that, yet. One of Sakusa's hands lingered against Atsumu's cheeks. It was very hot. So he  _ was _ blushing.

"And what… what do you see?", Atsumu asked, slightly out of breath, knowing. He felt the urge to close the gap between them, but instead, he waited for a response from the prince. There was no way Atsumu would let himself be persuaded this easily, not by the likes of Sakusa. 

However, when Sakusa leaned in even further, Atsumu closed his eyes awaiting the touch much more eagerly than he thought was alright. The sound of someone clearing their throat made the boys foreheads collide, growling at the pain. Atsumu breathed in sharply and held his head, trying to find who was interrupting them. What he found on the floor was a cat, staring up at them with an expression he never thought he would see on a cat.

With a bit too much force than necessary, Atsumu shoved Sakusa away. The prince fell on the bed, almost getting the wind knocked out of his lungs at the unexpected movement. The cat watched in what now seemed to be amusement and jumped next to Sakusa gracefully, sitting down and curling its tail around itself. 

"Am I  _ interrupting _ anything?", it asked and Atsumu could not remember which one of the felines it was or if he had seen this particular one already or not. Shaking his head violently, Atsumu declined the cat, which only chuckled under their breath at the coloration of his face.

"I'm Kai", it said, "and I'm here to get you. Dinner is ready." 

Glancing back at forth between the two wizards, the cat lowered its head, jumping to the floor and strolling to the door. "You can get dressed first. I'll wait outside", Kai said with a gentle expression. It was obvious Kai only meant well, but that didn't stop Atsumu from yelling and starting to hit Sakusa once the cat was out of the room with a soft sigh of 'Ah. Young love'. Sakusa in return had no way to defend himself and just occasionally choked out an "Ouch,  _ ouch!", _ while laughing. 

"You can get dressed by yourself! I'm not helping you if that's what you do, you… you… You're worse than any curse I could call you, urg." 

Storming out of the bedroom Atsumu slammed the door shut behind himself, finding the dark brown cat sitting in the narrow hallway. It blinked up at him. 

"What!?" 

"He can't see. You will have to help him eventually, if you want to shower after dinner, you know that right?" 

It wasn't like Atsumu didn't know this, but being told annoyed him to an unholy extent. None of them knew any person here personally enough to let them shower them, at least Atsumu wouldn't let Sakusa be alone with someone else. Judging by how most of them scrunched their noses after taking one look at him, he either smelled  _ that  _ bad, or he hid something. 

Atsumu was about to yell out when Sakusa walked to meet them. His clothes were in disarray, completely worn the wrong way around. His expression told Atsumu it was entirely on purpose.

"How do I look? You know, since I can't see it", Sakusa asked. Raising his arms almost provocative, as if he presented a new royal outfit, he turned slowly. 

What he did look like was a savage gone wild and Atsumu couldn't take it. Even after he tried to calm down, holding his breath for a few seconds, he couldn't stop himself. Without another word, the eclipse wizard pushed Sakusa back into the bedroom, making him almost stumble and did what he said he definitely wouldn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might go ahead and post another chapter tomorrow, if I don't forget ;> I just wanna get it out there hhh  
> Till next time, Tetsu <3


	9. And There Are Voices In My Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day at Nekoma comes to an end, though it's not very satisfying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the sharing a tub tag gets important :)

_October 5th_

"You look like as if you've never even dressed yourself your entire life! I could do better without using my hands! What do you have magic for, you complete idiot!?" 

Kai perked up when he suddenly heard Atsumu whisper-shout some gibberish followed by Sakusa's giggles and a surprised shout. 

When they walked back out to Kai, the two wizards were bright red; one from embarrassment, the other from content. 

The dark cat was smiling tenderly, but even that was somehow able to tick Atsumu off. He stubbornly crossed his arms, looking down at the cat offendedly. 

" _ What!? _ " 

"I didn't say anything…", Kai mused. The animagus was sure his fellow tribe members knew exactly what was going on the second they laid eyes on the wizards. It was plainly obvious, but the creatures knew it wasn't their place to share this sort of information, not when soulmates got added to the mix. It was no fun finding out that way, but if something were to go wrong (which wasn't probable, due to them being fated mates) it would be their fault for messing with destiny. As long as they were cautious and knew what they were up against, there was nothing to fear; the boy was young, after all. 

The reason all animagus were cautious was led back to their origin.

For millennia, animagus were enemies with all kinds of creatures. They went to war to protect their homes. Even if the other creatures had the advantage, animagus seemed to win against them each and every time. They won some of them over for their own, their numbers fleeting until only a few of them were left. They fled to faraway lands, building their society from the ground up. Now Nekoma was well protected, but someone unknowingly trespassed their territory. And if that was the case, there could be more, everywhere.

The animagus indulged in their final victory and went back to their normal lives. Animagus who were born as such were blessed with a sixth sense, giving them a strong awareness of themselves and their environment. Some used this for agriculture, others for weaponry, others to become spies. They are able to smell out and understand things about other creatures, like their race and special abilities and was one of the reasons their tribes stayed undefeated.

It is possible to become an Animagus, though it is time consuming and extremely tiring, it's not impossible. 

When they arrived at the castle's doors, Atsumu's jaw dropped at the sheer size of it. It seemed pretty worn down, old, but it gave the place its own flair. Sakusa on the other hand didn't seem impressed in the slightest, since he spent almost all his life behind some boring old castle walls. Thinking back to the time when the castle was his  _ home _ , he had never been alone. The boy was always supervised by either one of their servants or his cousin, Komori. Though he had never been alone, he still felt lonely for all these years. He would sit in his room, wondering if anyone would hear him fall behind these castle walls, if anyone truly cared for him. Everyone thought that he had it all, but all he ever wanted was freedom. 

Now he was outside, his freedom so close he could almost taste it, and yet, his fear made him halt. Whatever it took, he wouldn't let his opportunity pass, no matter what, is what he told himself. But things were easier said than done. Sakusa just hoped Atsumu wouldn't make his plan fail. He didn't want to hurt him. Though, he feared that he had done so already. What would a little more do?

Arriving in the dining room, a lot of people were already waiting, slouching in their seats and chatting, scattered all around the big hall. 

Atsumu recognized a tall, but very young boy as one of the cats that led them to Nekoma just earlier. His hair was grey and his eyes were a piercing green. Although he was pretty tall for his age, which Atsumu assumed couldn't have been more than 11, he would slouch down to converse with Morisuke. The boy was smaller than Tetsurou, but taller than Morisuke by a tad. Atsumu couldn't help but see how bitter the cat was about that, since he seemed to be the kind of person that became passive aggressive about these things. Unsurprisingly, the crouching down of the grey one earned him a jab to his butt, making him mewl in pain. Morisuke gave Atsumu the strong feeling of a father figure to the grey haired boy. It reminded Atsumu that he never asked about their ages properly, though they all seemed rather young. 

At what age was marriage legal for them, or was there no such thing? Was it 21 like for him as well? And Kenma was only about 17. Atsumu made a mental note to ask Morisuke about their system and rules at the next opportunity. 

The room was big enough for at least 200 people to fit. The guards from the gates, knights and plenty of other people were scattered around the room. The big windows were blocked by gigantic, red curtains. The long table was decorated with silverware and red wine. Looking down at himself, it wasn't hard to tell what Nekoma's favorite color was. 

As the room got darker, big candles and torches attached to the walls were lit with magic, Atsumu could tell just by looking at it. Kenma slowly stepped into the middle of the room, hidden under his hood with two men by his side. One of them sturdier than the one on the left, who was carrying a bow. The magician pushed the hood from his head dramatically, held up his staff and shot a ball of light at the ceiling. It stayed there, levitating and illuminating all the creatures in the room, for the sun disappeared behind the horizon completely. Atsumu stared at the sensation until the sun was nowhere to be seen, ignoring the further happenings in the room, too distracted by this new feeling in his veins. His body and the energy inside it seemed to cool off. It was a nice feeling, not draining, but like a time to relax and recharge, a different kind of energy.

After the doors to the kitchen opened, Atsumu watched how Kai left to get dressed, while the others led Sakusa and Atsumu to their seats close to Morisuke and Tetsurou. 

Whatever Sakusa was expecting from a dinner in a castle, Atsumu was completely positive, this event didn't turn out the way he would have imagined it, at all. Instead of sophisticated individuals enjoying their food with manners Sakusa undoubtedly expected from them, he got a bunch of rascals eating with their mouths open, swallowing down the food like it might still escape them if they wouldn't fling their canines into it fast enough. For a prince, it was sickening.

"Excuse me, Morisuke, may I ask you something?", Atsumu began, watching the man down his entire glass of wine in one go. With a satisfied 'Haa' Morisuke turned, nodding eagerly, telling Atsumu to go ahead. 

"How old are you and Tetsurou? And how old is everyone else? You all seem very young to me…" 

Morisuke smiled. When he looked at Atsumu he saw his mother, he was the spitting image of her. Even their thought process was similar.

"I'm 24 years old, as is my husband. At Nekoma we like to make age categories so no one is left behind with no one to train or to be friends with. We have the first category, ages from 0-13, this includes the four little ones over there. Shibayama, Inuoka, Teshiro and Lev. At that age, they learn how to fight, how to control their powers, to protect themselves and others,, about our history and our neighbors, how to help our society. Then we have the second category, 14-19, which includes Kenma, Yamamoto and Fukunaga for example. They found their place as either caretaker, guard, healer, servant or cook. They keep everything running smoothly, keep mouths fed and everyone healthy and happy. Oh, and especially entertained." 

Atsumu nodded, thinking back to the little light show Kenma just did. He picked at his food absentmindedly, as he followed Morisuke's hands that showed him who he was talking about. "I see." 

"There are plenty more things to choose from, though. And then there's the last category, who would be my husband and I, as well as Kai. We rule, we fight, we keep things stable. We teach, we expand and we keep our little tribe safe. Everyone after 40 can decide for themselves to take it easy, fight or to keep working", explained Morisuke. Even though he had emptied a glass, and many before that, just a moment before talking, his voice was steady. He didn't seem light–headed in the slightest, even though to Atsumu he looked like a lightweight. But, with the given evidence Atsumu now knew Morisuke could hold his liquor. He would remember that.

"Don't you think it's a bit early to give the children their own.. uhm, tasks at that young an age? When I was a little fox, I really just ate, played and slept. Also cried. Lots." 

Morisuke held up his hand and downed another glass before continuing. He was grinning.

"And look at you know, not a fighting bone in your body. I could take you on with one hand right now." 

Atsumu scoffed. "Yeah, I sincerely doubt that–", before he could finish, suddenly a piercing pain shot through his arms. Morisuke's hand gripped him without looking, twisting his wrist painfully before he even felt the pressure of contact.

"Ow! Ow!! Ow, I'm sorry, Ow!!"

Morisuke let go with a smile and went on like nothing happened. 

"So, back to your question. Not at all! Each of them gets thoroughly prepared. If they do need more time, of course we will let them decide for their own. We find their talents and make them bloom. If we don't work together, this system that we build up will collapse. We mustn't ever stop. Since your kingdom shut down, we and the other tribes had to provide for ourselves, without magic." 

Atsumu stirred, looking around the room to find Kenma and two others sitting across. He could only assume the boys next to the timid magician were Yamamoto and Fukunaga. Ever since they arrived, Kenma was always mentioned with these two at his sides and he smirked at the true display of everyone's thoughts. They were  _ close. Wink wonk.  _

One of the boys fed Kenma his rice he was refusing to eat, eyes glued to the little magic box. The other had his arm around him, whispering into his ear, making him squirm.

Atsumu glanced back at Morisuke for a second, before he continued to watch their second generation's shenanigans. "How is Kenma magical?" 

As far as Atsumu understood, Animagus didn't possess any magic besides their transformation. It meant that Kenma, an animagus who was able to wield a staff, must be special somehow.

Morisuke stilled, looking over to the teenagers. His face was calm. Faster than Atsumu's eyes could follow, he threw a knife at one of the boys, but it was caught at the grip right before it came in contact with Kenma's nose. "Yamamoto, stop making Kenma uncomfortable at dinner!" 

He sighed before looking back at Atsumu, whose eyes were blown wide. 

_ Maybe I should have had training from little fox days on  _ Atsumu wondered. 

"We really don't know. He was born here from two Animagus, he  _ is _ a pure. But one day he was lost in the woods, all by himself. When Yamamoto and Fukunaga finally found him, he was bleeding from his lip and holding this staff… All he could say was that it was a present by the spirits, but in return, Yamamoto had a big wound and Fukunaga had turned deaf." 

Atsumu's eyes were glued to Kenma. Even from afar, Atsumu could clearly see the scar on Kenma's lips. Feeling the intense stare, Kenma looked up to meet the gaze. When Yamamoto proceeded to whisper little secrets into his ear, his entire face grew red and he smacked the boy with brutish force, unable to concentrate on his staring contest. Atsumu only pursed his lips, amused.

Halfway through dinner and a few little chats with the clan members later, Atsumu felt his fellow wizard's fingers creeping from his knee all the way up to his thigh. Quickly, he grasped the situation and calmed himself down, before he would make a scene over a minor thing. 

Sakusa couldn't see anything and his environment was loud and new. Sakusa wasn't making a move on him, no, he was just scared. Atsumu refused to lead all the attention to himself by yelling, not where all of these strangers could witness it and judge him for it. Instead of biting Sakusa's fingers off like he initially planned to, Atsumu placed his hand on Sakusa's to stop it, leaning in. 

"What's wrong?", he whispered. 

"Why are they so so loud? My senses are heightened and I can't hear myself  _ think. _ They also chew with their mouths open, which is not very well behaved of them and I might just puke on my food." 

Blinking a few times first, Atsumu sighed a little before chewing on his lip. "Are you kidding? They are  _ animals _ . And for that, they are pretty well mannered, to be honest. You haven't seen Hinata shove 4 meat buns into his mouth at once while simultaneously talking at the same time.  _ This _ is  _ nothing" _ , Atsumu chuckled, placing Sakusa's hand back in his own lap. 

"You should eat some more, though. It's really good, especially the rice." 

Sakusa slightly slouched in his seat, grabbing blindly for his glass of water. He missed it each time, but lit up as Atsumu mutely placed it into his hand, thinking he had found it by himself.

"That's the problem, I can't even  _ see _ what I'm eating. I just wanna shower and get to the bungalow and rest. A lot happened today and I need to–", he stopped in the middle upon feeling Atsumu's eyes on him. Sakusa coughed a little, blowing a stray lock of hair away that tickled his nose. 

"Hm?" 

"I need–... need time to think." 

Atsumu raised an eyebrow, but left the topic to be discussed some other day. He ate up, got to know a few more people. Putting it on himslef to remember all their members, Atsumu's eyes wandered over the animagus, all their trivia floating in his vision.

There was Tora, a tough looking teenager, who sat very close to their healer Kenma and was whispering into his ear any chance he got. On the other side was what he found out had been Fukunaga, who was silently chewing away on his dried tuna, one of his legs hiked up over Kenma's in a love language that Atsumu could understand. The eclipse wizard was introduced to the youngest animagus in the clan, being the tall boy Lev, the almost too small Shibayama, the timid Teshiro and playful Inuoka. Out of those four, the only cats were Lev and Teshiro. Inuoka and Shibayama both had a different Animagus form, being puppies. 

Since controlling transformation wasn't easy for the children, someone would always put a blanket around the puppies, for when they transformed back completely bare. Watching the dogs stumble over the sheets was one of the cutest things Atsumu had ever seen. Constantly reminding himself they are real children and not only puppies, Atsumu stopped himself from cooing at them.

Everyone seemed very close, like a big, happy family. Oh, how Atsumu missed his family, too. Little did he know, he wasn't the only one yearning for a different time. But as he spent the next hours talking and laughing, hearing stories and eating well, he noticed Sakusa just sitting there. Each time someone tried to engage in conversation, Sakusa would give curt answers, seemingly not enjoying his time and going out of his way to show his discomfort. 

Atsumu couldn't tell if he was choosing to be straight up rude or if he was severely uncomfortable and unable to control his emotions. Whatever it was, he didn't bother asking. It made Sakusa's eyes on him for the rest of the night go unnoticed by him, quietly hugging his legs to his body and burying his face in his knees. 

Dinner ended late and Atsumu and Sakusa were taken to the castle's bathrooms for their sorely needed showers. On their way there, Kai explained to them where they would get towels and soap and everything else they might need.

"When you're done, you should get plenty of rest. Tomorrow we'll let you sleep in, but after that it's gonna get pretty hard for you! Morisuke won't go easy on you. I'll leave you to it." 

As soon as Kai was out of the door, Sakusa began to struggle with his clothes.

"What are you doing?!", asked Atsumu bewildered. He tried to tear his eyes from the other's toned torso, what turned out to be a bigger challenge than anticipated. 

Sakusa seemed a bit puzzled. He stepped out of his pants and underwear. "I wanna shower? Why, do you shower with your clothes on, on your side?" 

Of course everyone took off all their clothing to take a bath, but that didn't mean that Atsumu wasn't completely uncomfortable with seeing another naked man, let alone taking a shower together. He hid his face in his hands, lips trembling in a mix of shame and annoyance. Never in his entire life had he seen anyone completely naked besides Hinata, but that was when they were kids, so it practically didn't count. Kids don't care about these things. But Atsumu wasn't a kid anymore. 

This was on a whole different level and he had to control himself, before his curiosity would make him stare. But then again, Sakusa couldn't see him. Would it be fine to just… look? 

"Aren't you embarrassed at all?", Atsumu would look for a second and immediately look away again. 

Sakusa shook his head, keeping himself steady on the wall as he took off his shoes and socks. "Most of the advisors, guards, servants and plenty of other people have seen me naked. It really isn't a big deal, is it?" 

Sure, for Sakusa none of this castle stuff seemed to be a big deal, but Atsumu felt a cultural shock.

_ So he doesn't mind one bit? Great. _

It wasn't like Atsumu thought he was an unpleasant view. Quite the opposite was making him bite down on his tongue, tasting his own saliva with a hint of metal. It was distracting. 

When no answer came, Sakusa straightened, making him seem even taller. "Would you please lead me to the shower and then the tub?", asked Sakusa quietly, reaching out his hand. Atsumu faced the bathtub. It was square, quite spacious, but there was only one. Though it seemed more than even five or more people would fit, Atsumu turned red. 

"Atsumu?" 

"There's only one tub." 

Sakusa lowered his hand, cocking his head to the left. 

"Do we both fit?", Sakusa questioned. 

Atsumu hesitated. "... No." 

"I can tell you're lying. A pretty ugly trait, if you ask me. Just get undressed and join me, but let's shower first to get all the debris and dirt off. We shouldn't sit in our own mud together, that's disgusting."

Atsumu couldn't deny he got mad at the choice of words. He didn't appreciate Sakusa acting like a royal pain in the ass, when all he was here was a wizard, just like Atsumu himself. Still, as much as Atsumu didn't want to admit it, Sakusa did have a point about the shower. If it meant he could go to bed earlier, then he would make that sacrifice. The two of them needed some well deserved rest as soon as possible. A mere shower and bath wouldn't hold Atsumu back, given he wouldn't fall asleep in the bath. 

"I guess", he retorted sheepishly. Atsumu turned, peeled off his clothes and walked to the shower, turning them on. When he glanced back at Sakusa, he eyed him, shamelessly this time. What would he do? Call him out? He can't see anyway, so Atsumu might as well find out about some things. 

Walking over and taking Sakusa's wrist, Atsumu noticed the many birthmarks he had all over his body. There were some on his hips, on his pecs. The skin there seemed even lighter. Pale and delicate, untouched by the sun. 

"Careful, there's a step… There you go." 

It seemed soft to the touch, as the rest of him. But in comparison to his cheeks, his stomach seemed white as chalk. It must have been a sunburn from the amount of time Sakusa had been in the real sun for the first time. 

He must feel so warm and tender now, a bit more lively, Atsumu wanted nothing more than to rub his cheek against the other's chest and wait for the sound of his heartbeat.

Warm water slid down Sakusa's body, finally washing away all the dirt and muck. He sighed out at the contact and buried his hand in the greasy hair, wettening it until it was damp and flat against his forehead. Atsumu couldn't help but stare at his face. With his hair down, the boy looked different. It hung in his eyes and when he opened them, staring at the wooden wall in front, Atsumu quickly averted his gaze. 

"Atsumu, can you hand me the soap?" 

"Uh, yeah. Wait a sec…", Atsumu glanced about the room until he found a shelf with all the needed things. He grabbed two bars of soap when his eyes caught a little phial, filled with a white liquid. It had a small insignia in the form of his marking. Without thinking, he hid the tiny flask between his clothes and hurried back to Sakusa. Atsumu placed the bar of soap in his hand and began cleaning himself up. 

Next to him, Sakusa was finishing up, washing out the rest of the foam in his hair before he grabbed the air in an attempt to reach Atsumu. When Sakusa got hold of his shoulder, Atsumu shrieked quietly, ripped out of his thought process. 

"Oh fuck, man. Don't scare me like that, I wasn't paying attention… god. What is it?", Atsumu cursed, wiggling out of reach from Sakusa. 

"I was wondering if you were done so we can get in the tub." 

"Almost…", he murmured, washing his face for the third time now. He quickly turned off the water and grabbed Sakusa's wrist yet again. He wouldn't hold his hand again. Too embarrassing. 

The boys slowly got into the heated water and sat there together for a while. Their heads were leaning back over the edge of the tub, leaving droplets of water underneath them on the floor. None of them said a word and just enjoyed the feeling of their muscles loosening up. The first one to break the silence was Sakusa. 

"Sorry about this…", he whispered, referring to the whole situation they had found themselves in. "If I had just destroyed it, we wouldn't be in this mess." 

His eyes were open as he was staring at the ceiling. He exhaled shakily and waited for a response. 

"What do you mean?", Atsumu asked. It was true that Atsumu was on edge about most things, which was validated, but he still couldn't see what Sakusa was apologizing for. Atsumu had been the one to read out the text and get them stranded in the desert.

Sakusa turned to look at Atsumu with a pained expression. He rubbed his eyes and sat up straight. If Atsumu didn't know any better, he wouldn't have thought Sakusa brushed away tears.

"Well, everything. I'm holding you back, I'm annoying you. I'm just–I know you don't want me here and, you know, that's fine. It's fine, it's okay but–" 

"That's not–", Atsumu tried to contradict, but Sakusa kept going. 

"What–… What I'm trying to say is: I know I'm a burden, you don't have to show me and", he scoffed darkly," I don't know how long we'll be here or what we're gonna have to do, but… let's try to get along, I promise I won't get into your way as soon as my eyes are fixed. Well– _if_ they are fixed at all. I'll be out of your hair, you won't have to see me ever again." 

Atsumu, quite frankly, was shocked. Had he been thinking about this the entire time, at the dinner table, too? It was another grim reminder that he knew nothing about the prince and that he seemingly tried to keep it that way. Sakusa would invade his space, but then keep himself at distance. He didn't know if he was supposed to be angry or happy, but he was way too tired to think about it anymore. 

"Uhm. Yeah, okay." 

That night, when the moon was high in the sky, they went to bed without having exchanged another word. In the darkness, back to back, both of them fell asleep with tears rolling onto their pillows, without letting the other one know they had the same reason to do so. 

Sakusa had yearned for something real all his life, somewhere to belong. Right now, he had a chance. It was right before him, all he had to do was grab it, hold on to it and never let go. But insecurities made their way into his mind. Everything could go wrong, he was scared of rejection since it wasn't his choice to make alone, it never had been and he knew the consequences. Fear made him unable to grab the one thing he has been wanting forever. He couldn't win. There was no way he could ever win. 

_ You'll never find your soulmate  _ was ringing in his ears, even though he had.  _ When you do, I will steal your magic and kill your soulmate. _

_Your only purpose in life is to_ _help me. Other than that you're useless,_ he said, yet Sakusa wanted to help Atsumu with all his might, but these words held him back like invisible chains. 

_ You're gonna die alone. I'm all you have left. No one wants you, no one loves you. You are broken beyond repair. You aren't trustworthy. You aren't kind.  _

_ You are a monster. _

Sakusa held his ringing ears. Vomit made its way up into his mouth, but he swallowed it back down, coughing as quietly as he could manage in order to not wake atsumu. It burned, making his eyes leak even more than before. The foul taste that now lingered on his tongue made him sob out. 

Hoping the sound of his voice would disappear, Sakusa covered his ears, pushing so hard against his skull he thought it might break, but it never did stop. Not even when he hid himself, pressing the pillow over his head, almost suffocating himself, wishing for it to finally  _ stop, _ it didn't.

Would it ever stop? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't post twice last time, but this time I will :3   
> See you in chapter 10 :)


	10. Truth Doesn't Change The Way You Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Zota! The next day at Nekoma is very interesting for Sakusa and Atsumu as well. Nekoma has a few weird things the boys need to get used to first

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls... take my hints...   
> Also KenToraFuku C:

_ October 5th _

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do", began Zota. 

"They probably don't know this, but Atsumu was sent to Nekoma, because their tribe are very skilled fighters and old friends of your mother and I. You said he's not alone? Who's with him?" 

Osamu grit his teeth. "Prince Kiyoomi. The prince is with him." 

"Well, maybe I should start with the soulmate thing–", Zota was about to say, when he was interrupted.

"No, we already know and we all have them. I have Hinata and they have each other..", Tsukishima informed. When he turned to look from Suna to Zota, he noticed the silent question he didn't dare ask, so Tsukishima continued. 

"Sorry. My name is Tsukishima Kei. The prince is Atsumu's soulmate so they should be fine." 

"Oh, thank gods. Double lucky!", exclaimed Zota, wiping the tiny droplets of sweat from his forehead. Behind him there was a grey stone wall and it looked like he tried to be quiet.

"Wait, so you didn't plan all of this? How Atsumu and I are eclipse wizards and both have our soulmate right when we need them?", Osamu asked puzzled. It seemed like an awful lot of luck to him, making his mind go crazy. No one he was related to would have that kind of luck, that was just not possible. To further his confusion, his father laughed. 

"No, man. This is all a complete coincidence, no one can determine someone's marking before its time. Your mother and I did plan ahead and prayed to the goddesses for you to end this war, but for them to give you this much power is–? It's really amazing, I love these ladies. So, anyway! We, your mother and I, are sending you to the Animagus in order for you to learn how to control your magic and… frankly, how to get along with your soulmate and harness your bonds power. It's a difficult task, but one you must master."

Osamu and Suna raised their arms, their fingers intertwined and their necklaces spraying sparks all around, threatening to light something up. 

"Is this what you need? Because we have been doing this for a while. It's kinda loaded, now even more than before since Osamu got his marking and we don't have any outlet for it…", Suna murmured, letting go of his boyfriend's hand quickly and shaking it with a yelp, when they almost set fire to the carpet. Zota nodded, unable to form any coherent sentence in response. He was more than proud of his son for already having mastered the technique and it made things easier. He simply couldn't see how this went unnoticed by him. 

It was silent for a moment before Tsukishima buried his face in his hands. The groan escaping him was long and dreadful. 

"So, what you're saying is that the future of our kingdom depends on our teamwork ability?", Tsukishima asked in agony. Zota stared into nothingness for a second, his hand on his chin in thought. 

"Pretty much", the man shrugged. 

"We're all gonna die." 

It was quiet for a long moment, until Hinata patted Tsukishima's back. "Now now, don't be so pessimistic, Tsukki." To which he hissed.

"The only problem is, I can't reach Nekoma's communication and there was only one portkey to them", Zota hummed,"This is gonna be tough on you guys." 

"Okay but", Suna rubbed his cheek,"do we know who the perpetrator is? You must know, Zota, don't you?" 

Zota snapped his fingers, hands massaging the temples. "I left myself clues, but whoever it really is could make themselves look like anyone at all. It could be the prince, for all we know. And my memory keeps being wiped of the answer, but my counter spell needs more work." 

"How can you remember us, then?", Osamu asked his father. 

"Whoever it is can't reach them." 

In thought, Suna rubbed his chin. He had an idea, which made his green eyes sparkle with determination "Give us the counter spell and I'll finish it for you."

  
  
*  
  


_ October 6th _

Sakusa was ripped out of his weird nightmare when a loud meow sounded in his ears. He didn't recall falling asleep, no room left wondering how the voices in his head went away, when he abruptly opened his eyes and was met with a cat biting away at his hand and another seated on his chest. As soon as he was awake, the cats stilled, licking their paws. 

When the prince glanced to the side, he caught just a glimpse of Atsumu, who was under an avalanche of cats. He was deep in thought, his mind going a mile a minute trying to figure out what the little fiole was he had found the previous night. Atsumu noticed the other shifting and turned his head.

"Morning", he sighed. "I wanna move but they won't let me. I think the one on my chest is Kenma, but they also don't talk to me and I can barely breathe–.." 

Sakusa had to giggle, scratching Kenma behind his ears hesitantly. Kenma swatted his hand away gently. When he continued to pet him, he got up and left. All the other cats followed behind. Sakusa had a hard time telling if they were regular cats or animagus and he clicked his tongue. He still had a lot to learn.

"Oh. Thanks", Atsumu muttered, stretching his limbs extensively. "Wow, a few of them were kinda heavy!" 

"No biggie", Sakusa mused, imitating his cousin's way of speaking. He wondered for what other reason except the cat's not liking him, they had chosen Atsumu over him. 

"Are you warm or something?", he added, placing his hand on the other's shoulder. And indeed, he was burning up. Feeling the hot, soft skin under his cold one made Sakusa shiver.

A light blush dusted Atsumu's cheeks. Wiggling free, he replied shyly. "Yeah, I guess so. Cats love warmth a lot." 

Wondering why the cat's wouldn't just make themselves comfortable on Sakusa was a question Atsumu answered himself after touching the prince's thigh with his elbow by accident. Atsumu almost hissed at how cold he was. 

Getting up slowly, Atsumu thought about how he didn't notice before and just watched the other boy intently as he got dressed in what seemed to be traditional clothing from Nekoma.

Sakusa was just sitting there. Small shorts were hugging his waist snugly and his hair was wild. Most interesting to Atsumu was the bright yellow gem dangling from Sakusa's necklace and his chest, which was extremely pale. It had been interesting the night before already. If Atsumu were to press his finger against it for a second, applying pressure, he was sure a bruise would come fast and stay long. Delicate was the best and only word Atsumu thought to describe it.

It was so quiet for a moment when Atsumu was fully clothed, Sakusa thought he had teleported away without him and reached out desperately. 

"A–Atsumu?", he called out. "Are you still here?" 

Gasping quietly, Atsumu hadn't noticed himself starting at the other. "I'm here, Sakusa." 

Closing his eyes, Sakusa sighed a little in relief. With his hands, he tried to feel his way ahead. The edge of the bed, the floor. His hands made a grabby motion when he stood. "Atsumu", he mumbled," Can you help me again?" 

_ I don't have a choice, now, do I? _

Atsumu sighed heavily. "Sure." 

When he touched Sakusa's body for the second time, he suddenly felt warm. 

How is that even possible? There was no noticeable action from Sakusa that could have led to this. It was strange, but Atsumu blamed some kind of Magic and pushed the thought away, helping Sakusa into his own clothes. It was a bit of a hassle, but Atsumu remembered things far worse than helping someone dress themselves. Like losing your mother. 

When neither of them said a word and just stood there, Sakusa cleared his throat. "So, Kai said it's our first day so we get to rest, but I guess we didn't quite do that. We should perhaps find somebody for help?" 

Atsumu nodded. He soon noticed it didn't bring the wanted effect, so he breathed out a  _ yeah, let's go _ . 

From his gut feeling, Sakusa could have sworn it wasn't going to be later than 8am, but the streets of Nekoma were bustling with energy.

"Who are we even looking for?", Atsumu sighed, pushing and shoving Sakusa from left to right, each time a cat strolled past him in a hurry. Had Atsumu not been there, the cat's tails and paws would have been flat.

"I mean, it would be best to find Morisuke, but Kai and– or wolf-guy would be okay, too…"

Bfore Atsumu could admit he had no idea what he was doing, the soulmates ran into Taketora. 

The boy had a skip in his step and seemed excited. When his yellow eyes fell upon the prince and Atsumu he grinned friendly. "Good morning!", he roared, waving like crazy. "Did you sleep well? Oh, you're wearing that inside out, by the way." 

Pointing to the shirt that gave away a small window to his pectorals, Taketora laughed at Atsumu. 

"What do you mean? It's right, the seams go the right way…", Atsumu pouted. "And also red looks good on me." 

"It's not that", the boy smiled. "Almost everything we have is double sided, one side is red, the other black, for durability. When you are taken, the majority of your clothes will be black. If you're single, you will wear mostly reds." 

Atsumu scoffed. "But you're wearing your shirt in red!" 

Taketora analyzed Atsumu with his eyes. "Well, I didn't add the red pants. I'm mostly in black, though, too. Really Atsumu, I thought you had style…" 

Watching Taketora walk off, Sakusa snickered at the annoyed expression Atsumu was wearing now. It was obvious Taketora only meant well and didn't see the harm behind his words, but Atsumu would live with it. This fashion disaster had distracted them from actually asking where everyone else was, so they tried their luck in Kenma's hut. 

The first room, where Sakusa had been treated yesterday, was empty. The faucet was dripping water every two seconds and the noise from the busy street didn't seem to reach all the way over. Maybe this was the reason for building this particular hut further away. 

"Kenma? Are you here?", Atsumu called, scanning the room. 

"Is he not here?", Sakusa wondered, walking alongside the wall, his hand touching the cool brick for orientation. 

"It's empty, but there's a door here. I'll go look, you wait here, alright? Sit down or something, I'll be right back." 

Sakusa did as he was told and settled on the examination table, trying to think about how many days he would be hindered from doing his job properly. If he had to go by another week or two he was certain it would not end well for him. In the light of his current attraction to Atsumu, the time span could vary. 

While Sakusa was deep in thought, Atsumu noticed the door before him was locked. He almost went for his wand, but decided against it a tick later. A simple hand spell would do the trick. It took him two tries, but when he heard the faithful click of a picked door, he walked in with a smile. Other wizards would even use levitation to push the door open, but Atsumu knew his magic wasn't strong enough for that.

Walking up a flight of dusty, stone stairs, Atsumu worried over what he might find at the other end of the next door before him. This one wasn't locked and when he pushed it open a smidge and he was greeted with the cutest view he had seen in a while. 

Fukunaga was sleeping on his side, curled into a human ball against Kenma, who was waving his hand with an irritated pout. The blanket covered most of it, but Fukunaga seemed to be undressed underneath, making Atsumu raise a single brow. 

"He transformed in his sleep. I need to get moving, but also–", Kenma cursed, looking down at the sleeping form of his boyfriend,"– I can't just wake him up either."

"You can, though", Atsumu replied, crossing his arms and grinning wide. "There's no rule that says you can't wake someone up when they're sleeping on you." 

Kenma's eyebrows knitted. "That's the problem. It  _ is _ a rule that goes for significant others and Fuku is exploiting it  _ so much… _ I have places to be! An Island that needs attending to!" 

"I–", Atsumu started,"–I have no idea what you're talking about. This is a village, not an island. Or do you guys also have an island?" 

He had to confess he felt the tiniest bit stupid, but when Kenma waved his hand no Atsumu relaxed. "You wouldn't understand, even if I explained it. Anyway. Did you need something?" 

Watching Fukunaga cuddle close to the other, Atsumu smiled lopsidedly. It was cute, seeing as Kenma was a very indifferent person in Atsumu's opinion. Looking at him just laying there, refusing to move when he normally wouldn't even meet someone's eyes in a conversation was funny. 

Brushing off his grin, Atsumu stepped closer, his voice but a whisper. "Actually, yeah. Did you happen to know where Morisuke is?" 

Kenma counted the freckles on Fukunaga's nose, brushing against the pale skin gently. His posture was giving the black haired boy his entire attention, but his golden eyes stared up at Atsumu. The wizard couldn't quite place it, but hadn't felt it to be too dangerous. Though, Atsumu could feel Kenma would just about pounce if anyone was to threaten Fukunaga right now.

"He is deaf, Wizard. There is no way you could wake him. He knows you're here anyway." 

Fukunaga opened his eyes, the same piercing color of yellow Atsumu had seen for all the other Nekoma tribe members. 

"Sorry. Force of habit…" 

"It's alright. Morisuke is away on business and won't be back for a few days." 

This intrigued Atsumu. Looking at Fukunaga, Atsumu waved, offering a smile. Testing the waters slowly, Atsumu continued, pursing his lips while talking. "So I heard you're a magician. Did Morisuke tell you–…  _ anything _ ?" 

It wasn't like Atsumu wanted to get all the information immediately. More than anything he imagined that Kenma might be able to teach him a lot. The staff Kenma carried with him didn't go unnoticed by Atsumu either and he may have a better chance at finding out how he got it through getting to know him. 

Fukunaga gave a small wave back after a moment of rubbing his eyes extensively. Turning to Kenma, the black haired boy grabbed his face, licking away at the magician's lips. It wasn't intimate, even with the lack of clothing between them. Kenma sighed, letting it happen as he stared off to the side awkwardly. It was then Atsumu remu the scar running down over Kenma's lips. 

"Don't– Please don't mind him, he's just– trying to heal me", Kenma sighed in embarrassment. His eyebrows were furrowed in a way that told the eclipse wizard, Fukunaga did this every single day. "I've had this scar for forever and it can't be healed, but you could say it's– he just enjoys making me feel like a fool, I guess." 

Atsumu decided to ask about this later and just concentrate on his task ahead. "Uh– Sure." 

"Yakun left–", another heavy, elongated sigh," Morisuke left me and Kai in charge, while he and Kuroo are away." 

_ Kuroo?  _ Atsumu wondered, nodding his head, even though he couldn't remember who Kenma was talking about right away. 

"So! What are we gonna do–! Today?", Atsumu asked, only slightly confused by the continuous liking by the deaf boy. 

Fukunaga finished his work, examined it and gave Kenma a soft kiss that left him red and in a mix of irritation and shame, before he started signing. "Ken, where's Tora?" 

While Atsumu just stood there, unable to understand the conversation between the two, they got up and dressed themselves. 

"He'll be back soon. He's getting us ready for today's mission", Kenma said. Fukunaga blinked in understanding and tied his shoes. 

He rubbed his chin in thought, pointing at Atsumu in question, facing Kenm. Kenma shrugged, signing back, so that Atsumu wouldn't understand. "I'd rather be alone with you and Tora. They'll be a pain." 

Fukunaga only smiled gently, waving Atsumu towards him. Beaming back at Kenma, Fukunaga silently asked for a translator. While Fukunaga signed, a lot faster than before, Kenma said the words out loud. 

"We could use the help. Be ready in 10 minutes. Kenma can stay home." 

Fukunaga's cheeks puffed. He jammed his finger into the magician's sides, making him yelp in agony. "Okay! Okay stop!" 

Licking his lips, Atsumu bit back a giggle. He would question their relations later on, but from what they showed him, they had to be extremely close. The way Kenma's eyes softened when looking at Fukunaga, Atsumu figured it must be something nice to have. A significant other would be great, but Atsumu was stuck with a significant annoyance waiting for him downstairs.

"Fine, he said to take your prince friend with you…", Kenma murmured. His eyes widened when it was Atsumu's turn to sigh. 

Pleased with Kenma's word, Fukunaga nodded, holding up his hand. Atsumu watched in confusion. He had no idea what the boy wanted from him and turned to Kenma, who raised one brow. 

"That's– Of course he wouldn't know, Nana", he said, blowing strands of hair out of his face. He grabbed Atsumu's wrist, which surprised Atsumu so much, he had no time to think about the nickname as much as he wanted to.

_Nana._ _Kinda cute._

"Open your hand. When we greet one another in Nekoma, we press our hands together like this", said the magician, demonstrating it with his boyfriend. Both of their hands were rather tiny and it looked absolutely adorable.

Atsumu did the same and smiled at the happiness in Fukunaga's face. With another wave Atsumu left them be and walked back down the stairs to find Sakusa had left. 

_And I was considering giving you a nickname. Now I'll leave it at significant annoyance._ _Your loss._

However, right outside of the hut, Taketora was having a conversation with Sakusa. Or more like, Taketora was shouting out loud and waving his arms frantically, while Sakusa flinched and listened. 

Announcing to everyone that breakfast would be served soon, Lev led the bunch of teenagers to their tables in the big hall.

Atsumu decided, while Morisuke was gone, he would practice magic with Kenma. Somehow he would get Kenma to help him.

Watching Lev's tail whip from left to right, most certainly sensing something amiss, Atsumu's eyes followed his soulmate. He walked up to the small boy, placing one of his ridiculously large hands on the gray hair. Lev escaped a sound not short of surprise, but when all the prince did was smile, Lev returned the gesture. 

Breakfast had been uneventful for the most part. With Morisuke and Tetsurou missing from the bunch, Kai and Kenma had their paws full of work. It wasn't like Kai couldn't handle himself, he, still appreciated the magician's help gratefully. He was at peace knowing that Kenma would keep the soulmates and small ones busy for the time being, while he had to organize in his leader's absence. But he could handle it, as it hadn't been the first time he was in charge alone.

Following breakfast, Kenma had taken the soulmates and his members back to his cottage. Close at Sakusa's tail the entire time was none other than Lev, who had quickly taken a liking to the tall man. 

Kenma pushed him away with one, weak arm. "You can't come with us, it's too dangerous." 

"But why not!?", the boy protested, stomping his foot on the floor. He was throwing a hissy fit, his sharp nails trying to get a hold of Kenma. 

"Now now!", Tora intervened, grabbing the back of Lev's collar and holding him up as if he didn't weigh as much as a barrel full of wine. "Don't be too hasty, kitten. We are going into the desert, it's not safe for you." 

"But I was there when we picked them up! I can handle myself, I can help!!" 

Kenma rubbed the bridge of his nose, his hood gliding off the hair falling into his face. "Lev." His voice was low, threatening to some extent. 

Upon being addressed by the magician, the boy straightened his spine, green eyes blown wide. "Y–yes, Kenma!?" 

"I don't want to have to babysit five people instead of only four. You can come with us another time, but not today. You can make yourself useful by collecting materials in the forest with Inuoka and Teshiro…", Kenma mumbled, wincing when Fukunaga tugged his hair into a low ponytail hastily. Fukunaga had a hard time reading Kenma's lips when all the hair fell into his face. Tying it back also looked pretty cute, Fukunaga and Taketora agreed on that.

Atsumu noticed himself exhaling quietly. Not wanting to destroy this moment, he indulged in the silence of Sakusa next to him. A moment later he worried and broke it. "You alright?" 

His body froze, but Sakusa didn't let it show. "Can you hold my hand, Atsumu?" 

Blowing a stray piece of hair from his face, Atsumu frowned. Knowing he had to help the other was one thing, but executing this task was a completely different matter. It was even weirder for him despite the fact that everybody expected him to get along with Sakusa, like it was absolutely normal for them to fall in love. Sadly, it wasn't that easy.

Feeling a lump form in his throat, he grabbed Sakusa's wrist gently, tugging him along a step. Even though the other had asked him to, he couldn't deny his surprise when Atsumu really followed through with it. He felt so warm and tender around his own skin. 

Atsumu grunted in discomfort. "Only for the mission. Only because of your eyes, got it? As soon as that's fixed you can–", he didn't finish his sentence.

The small smile spreading on Sakusa's face was almost priceless. Not that Atsumu hadn't seen his smile before, but each time it didn't quite pass as honest. This one, however, seemed so genuine, his heart jumped. Atsumu watched as his cheeks grew rosy from pure contentment and furrowed his brows. 

This smile would be his doom.

Not too far from them, Lev stirred after staring at the ground, his fists clenched on either side. "... Alright. I'll go with them. Do you need the white plant?", Lev asked defeated.

Nodding, Kenma smiled when Tora came back into view. "Be careful, alright? We will be back by dawn. Make sure the food is ready by then." 

Fukunaga, who looked about his bow and arrows, had Yamamoto fasten his countless belts. They were both dressed mostly in black, which reminded him of what Yamamoto had told him about their meaning.

"Let's go", he said, grinning and patting down the other two men. "We have got some hard work to do!!" 

An hour into their journey and Atsumu's feet already began to hurt. He slowed his steps down, walking at Sakusa's pace to ask him a question. Hesitation made him halt, but he figured he'd much rather not be hurting than feel a little stupid. So he leaned over. 

"Hey, Sakusa? Do you– um. Well, I know the health spell, but I don't think I do it correctly? Would you tell me?" 

Sakusa snorted. "Oh so you need my help? How about you hold my hand normally in return, it's straining." 

Frowning, Atsumu grabbed his hand normally, sighing when he liked the feeling of Sakusa intertwining them. "There. Now tell me." 

Sakusa pressed one finger against his lip in thought. He knew how to do it, but explaining it wasn't as easy as he expected it to be. "What's even wrong, why do you need it? I only know the simple one for headaches and such. Will that suffice?" 

"My feet just hurt from all this walking and from yesterday. I didn't get the chance to heal myself, either." 

"I see." 

This made Atsumu giggle quietly, seeing as Sakusa was blinded. The prince didn't think much of it, smug himself as he explained to the wizard how exactly the spell worked.

They fixed each other up with ease, hands still together between them. Atsumu was glad none of the others commented on it, bit it would have been a waste of breath, since Kenma, Yamamoto and Fukunaga were holding hands themselves. The wizard saw this as the perfect opportunity to ask them a few questions. 

Yamamoto and Fukunaga were rocking their hands back and forth, a skip in their step, while Kenma in the middle was letting himself endure the shaking, babbling and whistling.

When Atsumu dashed towards them, Sakusa almost tripped and fell, catching the next best tree to grip. 

"Kenma, Fukunaga, Tora! Can I ask you something?", Atsumu chirped, tone the same as someone who was asking for money from their parents.

Unexpectedly, he was shushed by a weird sound he never heard before. The ground underneath his shoes got grainy, not firm at all. "Wha–", he began, but Kenma just motioned to the bushes next to them. 

"There's the entrance to the port city, Kamomedai." 

Sakusa and Atsumu made sounds of confusion, walking through the invisible barrier. 

On the other side Atsumu immediately smelled salt, felt a warm breeze and gasped. Water, wherever he looked. It was gigantic, it was– 

"What is it called?", Atsumu asked astonished, whipping his head to meet Kenma's amused face. 

"That's the ocean. Welcome to Kamomedai, but we're just here to pick up materials." 

Atsumu couldn't believe his eyes, but soon came to pity his traveling partner. Peeking back at him over one shoulder, Atsumu found another view he never thought he'd see. 

Wind blew away the black locks of the prince, giving way to his eyes. In this light, Atsumu believed they were just sparkling at first. Upon further inspection, he found tears rolling down his face. When Atsumu placed his hand on one shoulder gently, Sakusa jostled up, wiping away the tears so quickly, it almost seemed he had hit his own face purposely. 

"The– the salty breeze got in my– my eye so–", he stammered, leaving his sentence hanging in the air from the squeeze of Atsumu's hand. 

"Let's go." Atsumu's voice was gentle. Whatever he thought was going on with Sakusa, the prince was relieved he wasn't keen on finding out. Perhaps he was just being thoughtful, but Sakusa would not get his hopes up this easily. 

"Yeah." 

Once in the buzzing city of Kamomedai, Fukunaga led the way, signing excitedly as he explained what their business was. Kenma was only half-heartedly listening and repeating the words back. 

"Kamomedai is a port city. They make soap for us, by using seashells and seaweed. He says he likes the ones that are scented the most– Oh, and now he just saw a funny bird…", Kenma continued on, unable to suppress his bashful smile for the other.

"So that's how you make soap…", Atsumu breathed. "And that's what we are getting? For the cure for Sakusa?" 

Kenma guided Fukunaga away from the gulls, motioning for him to join Yamamoto in the market place up ahead. "Yes", he began,"and no." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Well, for one–", Kenma stretched his limbs a little,"–we have to restock. Later, when it's dark, we are getting the other materials, so just hold on tight. It's actually the smallest part of our trip." 

Leaving Kamomedai after a short meeting with their very own prince Hoshiumi Kourai, they visited a few different tribes and cities. Each time they brought something with them, Kenma seemed to store it away with his staff very sufficiently, making it disappear.

Atsumu wondered. "Are you sending those directly home? Is it teleportation?" 

"Yes", Kenma answered, hoping Atsumu would stop asking so many questions. The cat was musky annoyed, knowing Atsumu had an immense amount of magic, but didn't know how to use it.

"I have never tried to teleport anything besides myself…", Atsumu revealed. "It never occurred to me that I could." 

"That's the fun thing about magic. You can almost do whatever you want." 

_ Almost, _ Atsumu thought.  _ Right.  _

Feeling how Atsumu's fingertips itched, Kenma sighed out lightly. "You can even do this without seeing the object at all. You try it. Teleport the staff here, the one you brought along." 

Atsumu took a step back. "I'm–not sure I'm capable of such magic. I can't even open doors with it and it's not my staff to being with." 

"Well. Then we start with that today." 

It was then that Kenma gave him homework, which was nothing more than using magic like breathing air.

When the ground beneath Sakusa's feet got less solid, the first thing that came to mind was the desert from the day before. He tugged on Atsumu's hand. By now, both of them were sweating, but refused to let go. 

"Are we back where–", Sakusa tried, but didn't find the right word. Thankfully, Kenma continued for him, filling the holes. Atsumu watched the sky in confusion. 

"Yeah", Kenma breathed. "It's called the asteria desert. This is our last stop." 

With the sun going down on the horizon of the asteria desert, Atsumu felt a lot different about it. When they first wound up there, just yesterday, Atsumu was tired and sweaty, much like in this moment. But somehow, without the glaring sun biting at his skin, the desert seemed peaceful and quiet. The feeling was entirely different. 

"What does asteria mean? Like, what does it stand for?", Atsumu asked, his thumb moving over Sakusa's hand without his knowing. Still, Sakusa felt it. 

All Kenma did was point towards the sky. 

Not even a second after the sun was all the way gone, Atsumu saw them. Bright lights flying through the sky like fireballs. He flinched, squeezing his soulmates hand.

"What the fuck is that?!", Atsumu gasped alarmed. "Are we being ambushed??!" 

Taketora laughed wholeheartedly, shaking his head. He crossed his arms, casting his gaze upwards. "Ever heard of stars?", he asked. Fukunaga beside him was pointing up, smiling as he spied a shooting star coming their way. 

Naturally, Atsumu had never heard of the likes, having grown up with the ever-shining sun. All he remembered were tales his mother told him about the other side. Meaning, he was obviously scared when an unknown object fell from the sky directly towards them. Quietly, he whined, pulling Sakusa closer to him. "Help no, it's coming our way! Help!" 

When the shooting star landed at their feet, he was clinging to Sakusa's back. Peeking over the shoulder, he watched Taketora smashing the rock, which radiated an immense amount heat. 

Atsumu climbed down. "Oh." Bashfully, he was looking at the two boys working, while Kenma unpacked a few materials. "My mom used to tell me about suns in the sky but what is a star..?" 

Sakusa beside him smiled gently, pointing to the sky that darkened by the second. He couldn't see, but he knew; remembered. Looking at the stars for the first time, Atsumu was mesmerized. 

"Your mom was right, you know", Sakusa smiled sadly. He would have liked to see the stars. "All stars are smaller sun's and the sun is actually a star. I think there are shooting stars, since you asked if we were ambushed. Those are stars that fall from the sky. But why are we here, Kenma?" 

Kenm still as lazy as ever, just nodded towards his boyfriends. The glowing rock burst open after another hit. "Asteria is a derivative for star." 

As the big orb, roughly the double the size of a fist, opened, Atsumu didn't believe his eyes. Beautiful glistening dust fell out.

Tora grinned, taking a little fiole and catching the fresh stardust.

This ended up explaining the name, but Atsumu was still confused about what they would be doing. "Okay, but what is it for?"

"This is our most valuable resource. With this, maybe we can heal your boyfriends eyes." 

"He's not my boyfriend." 

"I'm not his boyfriend." 

In the end it had taken them the entire day and more to gather all their needed materials. More than once did Atsumu break a sweat, but Sakusa was there by his side each time he used the health spell on himself. 

Without taking notice of it, Atsumu had gotten small lessons here and there. Kenma guided him, helping sort his thoughts and keep him in line, relaxed, while Atsumu attempted the spells. Sakusa had been helpful, too. Nonetheless, he was more of a burden than helpful when it came down to it, Atsumu tried to convince himself.

What surprised the eclipse wizard was not only the animagus' calm approach in regards to Sakusa, but also the quick thinking in response to his condition. Trying to make a cure wasn't easy. A cure. Sure, there had to be such thing, but it surely is so rare, finding it could take forever. Even if the stardust possessed magical properties, if it was used the wrong way, it would be entirely useless and a waste of the valuable resource.

Thinking about it now in the shower, Atsumu could only describe them as common sense filters, Kenma and the others. The floor was too ragged and Sakusa stumbled often? Just flatten the ground with magic. Can't keep Sakusa close at all times by touch, but also don't want to lose him? Conjure up a leash and have him wear it. Not like they did that, is what Atsumu would want to say. However, they did. 

Rubbing the soap out of his hair, Atsumu chuckled to himself. Why did he always make things more complicated than they appeared? He had magic, for Emi's sake. He would have to get used to him finally being able to wield it. He would have to find a way to drop this habit. He didn't have magic for nothing, after all.

Eyes droopy, Sakusa's head bopped, falling and rising with every quiet breath he took. Atsumu watched him almost fall asleep in the tub. Blowing hot air from his nose, Atsumu smiled fondly, but lopsided. He didn't even do more work than Atsumu. 

"You didn't even do that much today… Damn prince…" 

But then again, he healed the eclipse wizard every single time Atsumu would ask him for it. Perhaps, this was the reason he felt less fatigue than Sakusa.

His steps made a wet sound on the floor when he walked over to the tub, settling in next to the inky haired man. The water was still steaming hot and it felt nice on his skin. His eyes wandered over his soulmate, musing at the small sound he made.

Atsumu muttered under his breath, reaching out to push the thick wetness that were his locks to the side. "Hey, wake up, Sakusa." 

The back of his pointer finger grazed the pale cheek, quietly observing his complexion. Slowly, it shifted. Sakusa's hand was waving before his face, so atsumu would leave him be. "Just five more minutes…"

He was rubbing his face like a mink, another small sound slipping past his lips. Stretching his limbs he looked around, for no particular reason. "Atsumu?", he whispered, rubbing his wrists. "You here? It's suddenly warmer…" 

All the tugging had made the sensitive skin around the bones of Sakusa's wrist turn red, until Kenma had come up with a solution. Since it was too embarrassing and dangerous to wear it around his neck, Sakusa had pulled it around his wrist, after telling them truthfully that if he held onto it, he would let go.

"You got a pimple right on your collarbone, princess." 

Sakusa, suddenly wide awake, whined out. "Pop it!!" 

"Ew, what the fuck. Do I look like your maiden, I'm not gonna pop your pimple!", Atsumu yelled at him, taking his hand gently.

"Um,  _ excuse _ you." Sakusa declared offended,"Motoya had a weird obsession with it, so I had him do it for me, okay? I'm not  _ that–  _ I don't have that much of a stick up my ass!" 

Atsumu felt a little tug at his heart. He bit back the curious tone in his voice he was sure was about to erupt, while he attempted to heal the other. "Who's Motoya?" 

"Oh!", Sakusa blushed, as to cover his plain stupidity, with the fact that their hands were touching  _ again _ . He wasn't supposed to talk about his family. But it was just Motoya. It wouldn't hurt, right? 

"He's my cousin…" 

"Is he a prince, too?" 

Sakusa mused, while Atsumu rubbed his tender skin continuously. He thought back to Motoya's family and smiled as nostalgia filled him. The gentle headpats and the cradling Sakusa so loved always filled him with such joy, any announcement of a trip was met with the upmost enthusiasm. Now that he thought about it, home had always been with the Komori family. It was one of the only places Sakusa had ever felt secure; like he belonged somewhere. So obviously when Motoya wanted to pop his pimples, he could hardly say no after all the hospitality and care he received. 

"You could say that. Yeah." 

And so their conversation came to an end. Atsumu finished his rather sloppy healing session for Sakusa, but he was still grateful for it. Atsumu didn't have to do it. "Thanks.." 

"Well, you're obviously too tired do it yourself, so. Yeah. There you go, I guess." 

Now all that was left, was getting prepared for what the coming week was about to throw at them.


	11. Not All Color Is Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaku tells Atsumu a bit more about himself and gives the wizard a history lesson on top

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys taking my hints yet...? After this you hopefully will. Just don't walk into my trap ;)

_ October 12th _

Sweat was slowly running down his spine as Atsumu steadied himself in an effort not to slip up and give Sakusa another opening. His shirt was damp in all the worst places. It was clinging to him in the most uncomfortable way, but he shrugged it off. Atsumu struggled. He wasn't completely helpless with the wand in his hands anymore, but it also wasn't like a week of training made him into a pro. The young wizard could count himself lucky to not have taken a seat on the damn thing, breaking it in two. Everyone gets only a single wand in their whole lifetime. If it broke, it could be repaired again, but it was an immense effort. He should count himself lucky he even had it. Though, a staff would be better.

"Is that all you got, Miya?", prince of the moon kingdom, Sakusa, had the audacity to provoke his soulmate during their daily training. With a grin on his lips he approached the blonde, playing with his own wand like a pen. "You're so bad and I can't even see you properly." 

After they collected the stardust with Kenma and the others, they got stuck in the preparations. In order to make the all-cure, Kenma first had to mix all the ingredients together, before having it blessed by either Kuroo and Yaku or Nekomata himself. Since neither of them were reachable in any kind of form, Sakusa's cure had to wait. 

Even so, the first few days had been rougher on Atsumu's bones than on the prince's. His magic was more trained, almost second nature from experience, where Atsumu lacked timing and swiftness. Each morning, it got a little easier to rise along with the sun. Same went for Sakusa. He had a feeling his eyes would probably never heal properly and it had made him sick to the stomach for these last nights, but that was just one extra step in his way. It would stir up problems none of the people he knew needed, especially not Atsumu. To Sakusa's surprise, Atsumu got a little more gentle with him with each passing day, too. Instead of pulling his hair to get him to move it along, Atsumu would grab his wrist or when he was lucky, his hand. Sometimes when eating together at the long table, Atsumu would feed him a little, helping him to find his way around the plate and food. 

"I really can't stand you one bit, princess", was what he said, but Sakusa knew for a fact, Atsumu was lying. Not because of the evidence of his gentle nature regarding Sakusa, but the yellow gemstone he carried with him at all times. In the beginning Atsumu hid it, leaving it at their bungalow under his pillow, but quickly forgot about it. Although it was dangling from his neck, Sakusa would notice it faintly glowing when Atsumu did something really badly, making Sakusa smile or blush. Was it because of Atsumu's embarrassment or Sakusa finding pleasure in it? He just knew his gem would glow when he was happy. 

Sakusa hadn't planned on falling in love with Atsumu. Only a week had passed and the prince was head over heels. Atsumu's touch was soft when he wanted it to be, he was helpful, but all the same overly naggy about it; which Sakusa found to be endearing in the strangest way. Now he had to pray for Atsumu not to fall for him, too, though it might be too late already. It might've sounded ridiculous, but Sakusa felt Atsumu watching him from time to time. When they were lying in bed together, at bath time. His skin felt hot when he thought about the wizard's handsome face which he so adored.

However much he liked the other though, he wouldn't tell Atsumu his honest feelings. If he did, all would be out in the open and he wouldn't be able to fulfill his mission. Sakusa tried believing Atsumu each time he said he couldn't stand him, he really did. He needed it to be true. It made things easier, but it didn't mean he couldn't aggravate the other. Provoking the blonde was Sakusa's favorite pastime, after all. 

Before Sakusa could come up with a snarky remark, they were interrupted by another fighter getting into the ring. Wordlessly, he requested a sparr with one of the two, just by looking at them intently from under his green hood. It hid his face quite well, Atsumu noticed, when he tried to find out just who would walk in on his training.

The only one not tensing up was the tall boy Lev, who had been ordered to help out by Kenma. He had to clean up, organize– all the stuff Kenma was too lazy to do. Lev did these things with enthusiasm nonetheless. 

From the sidelines Morisuke perked up. Once he and Tetsurou had returned from their mission just hours ago, they sat themselves in the audience, needing a rest after their little one week long debate with a neighboring tribe. He rested his hand on his chin, waving the other at Tetsurou without letting his eyes wander from the challenger. "Atsumu, you take this one–" 

"But I wanna fight the winner. He seems really–", the man stopped himself, taking off the hood, eyeing Sakusa and licking his lips with his divided tongue,"–tasty." 

Morisuke grimaced. "Thanks for trying, but we know." 

Atsumu thought he hadn't heard correctly. He scoffed loudly. "Uh, excuse me?" 

All the green haired man said was "You are excused", which made Atsumu's blood boil even more. He stared him down as the man approached Sakusa, a sly smile never leaving his lips. Lev ran over, standing himself before Sakusa, acting as a shield, in order to protect him. It made the prince's heart ache.

Atsumu felt his face redden with anger and without looking over to the men, he asked a question. 

"Tetsurou. Mori. Permission to kill this man." 

Tetsurou started laughing bitterly, taking step after step as he walked down the stairs from the podium, inching closer to the stranger. His grin was creepy, unlike Sakusa had seen on him before. Maybe Tetsurou was someone to fear. 

"Believe me", he said,"I've tried plenty of times. Permission granted." 

The man quietly cooed at Tetsurou and Atsumu could have sworn Morisuke's stare was trying to end the man as well. The vein on his temple was just about to pop. 

"Oh, but, Kuroo baby! I just wanted to take a bite out of him, maybe he tastes as delicious as he looks…?" 

"That's enough, Daishou. He's a kid. You're a kid right?" 

"Well, I'm eighteen", Sakusa stammered, standing up straight and helping Atsumu to do the same.

"See? Means I'm free to go, right?", Daishou grinned. Tetsurou just shook his head in disbelief, embracing the man in a tight hug. They patted each other's backs like some old men,. 

Daishou was tall, but not as tall as Tetsurou. His green eyes and hair accented his pale skin and when he smiled, tiny fangs poked out at the sides. They seemed like dangerous weapons on him. 

From his seat as onlooker, Morisuke rose up, walking and embracing the stranger as well, before turning to the wizards to explain.

"Daishou, these are  _ prince _ Kiyoomi of the eclipse kingdom and his soulmate, eclipse wizard Atsumu Miya. Guys, this is Suguru Daishou from the neighboring Animagus tribe, Nohebi." 

Daishou bowed, winking at Sakusa and Lev. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, prince and soulmate. Also, please believe me when I say I am but kidding. I am happily married to my wife, Mika, we are expecting kids soon," he smiled cutely, the eerie feeling replaced. "Speaking of kids. I'm here to take the little devil off your hands, can I grab him? Then I'll be out of your hair, gentle sirs." 

Morisuke slapped his hand against his head, gasping in disbelief. He had completely forgotten about the arrangement in all the effort of making good fighters out of the rough diamonds that were the soulmates and his trip.

"Is it already your turn again? Time does fly, doesn't it? Give Mika our best regards and take Lev with you. We'll see you soon to pick him back up", said Morisuke with a strong pat on Daishou's back, which had him tripping. 

"Well, just don't forget about him again. Last time he cried for like two hours." 

"Hey, don't tell them that, Su!!", Lev protested.

As quickly as he came, Daishou had left with Lev thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The boy waved at Sakusa and the others who returned the gesture.

Needless to say Atsumu was confused. While he watched Sakusa busying himself, helping Tetsurou with whatever it was he was doing with the weapons box, Atsumu stomped over to meet Morisuke. 

"Who was that!?",he yelled, then lowered his voice saying," and why was he flirting with my man even though he's taken?!"

The man bit back a smile spreading on his face, leaning into Atsumu with an amused expression. Morisuke knew Daishou had just tried to warn them, but having nothing to really worry about, Morisuke had assumed the snake, which was the reason for his dropping the subject that fast, needed the explanation. However, he wasn't going to tell Atsumu this.

"So, since when is Sakusa  _ your man _ ?", He chuckled. His expression turned earnest and he scratched his head in thought, mumbling to himself. "We didn't tell you yet, have we? You should know this…" 

"Know what?" 

"You see", the man licked his lips," Lev is no ordinary Animagus. His parents are two different kinds of Animagus and he somehow inherited both of them. Lev has a hard time using his snake form, he's more comfortable with the cat one, but we do encourage him to try and master them both. Hence, we send him to the snakes." 

Atsumu thought for a second. "So you reproduce by..?" 

"By koitus, that's right. You wizards don't have that and I will always be jealous of that." 

Morisuke had always wished to have a family one day. When he fell in love with Tetsurou, his dreams of having children of his own flesh and blood popped. When he had heard about the tales of the three witches Sawa, Emi and Tetsu who granted the wizards wishes for children without them needing to have sexual intercourse between man and woman, it sounded like a dream. Looking at Atsumu now, Morisuke knew Atsumu, too, was a creation of the witches. He and Kuroo had planned to go to the eclipse kingdom to wish for their own kids, but before they were ready, war had broken out and the eclipse kingdom was unreachable. It has been 20 years since then.

"So, you can get– what's the word?", Atsumu asked, rubbing his stomach to emphasize the correct term he was looking for. The cat blinked, laughing when he understood what Atsumu was trying to say. Of course he wouldn't know much about it.

"Well, that's the whole problem!", chuckled Morisuke,"Males can't get pregnant, since they don't have a womb." 

Atsumu watched Sakusa smile and laugh in the distance. "But you want kids, too. That's why you wanna have my kingdom saved. Right?" 

Turning his attention back to the small man, he frowned. 

"Actually, yes. That's selfish, but it's true. But even more than that, I want…", Morisuke's eyes watered and Atsumu quickly became uncomfortable, raising his hands defensively. He had never been the comforting type and was more of a listener. Feelings weren't his strong suit either. Trying to explain how he felt was more difficult than anything life could throw at him. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way", Atsumu apologized,"I want this to be over, too. I wanna know it as this magical place you told me about and I can't wait to master this– this soulmate stuff, if only Sakusa wouldn't be so– so infuriating!" 

"You know, when I met your mom she was very young, about 15, I was 7. The invasion didn't happen until years after that, when she was 25 and I was only 13. I should be about her age right now, but we Animagus evolve entirely different; it takes double the amount of time. Meaning, she is now about 49? And I'm still only 24 years old. We were friends, travelled, fought and grew together. When the war broke out, she and your dad had been together for a while. She and Zota prayed to the witches for you to end the war. They asked for an offspring so powerful, they could end this in a jiffy…" 

The two moved to sit down on the benches, inching together to engage in conversation further as they watched their partners talk. 

"I was already back home when I heard about her having found a little fox on her doorstep. When she told your father, he told her the same thing! They had gotten you and your brother. They had asked for one eclipse wizard and gotten two. But after that, it got complicated. Shapeshifters have specific powers like mind control, so we– Tetsu and I– assumed that their leader pressed information out of your dad, since the barrier around your kingdom was his creation, but– You know, we never doubted him. He got you here and he was most likely forced to do it while also getting his memory wiped but– ...", a heavy sigh left Morisuke. "Nevermind." 

Atsumu pulled his legs up to his body, holding on tight. He sighed into his knees, closing his eyes. He turned, opening them to look Morisuke in the eyes. 

"Why would no one tell us that everything depends on us?" 

"That's easy", Morisuke said, his lips quirking up as he watched Tetsurou scold Sakusa for letting a morning star land on his foot. Unable to hold it back, Atsumu chuckled. When he looked back to Morisuke, it was as if he had taken a lot of responsibility off his shoulders. 

"It's because you are not the only eclipse wizards around. You–", he smiled,"–are not alone." 

It was pretty obvious, now that he thought about it. How would they be the only ones left? 

"So, where are the others?", he asked. If he had the chance to find them and learn from them he definitely would, whatever it took. 

"Well, some escaped and fled far away, going into hiding, but the shifters imprisoned most of them. And many, many died. To ensure they had no power, or very little, they built the walls around your kingdom. Even inside, they parted sun and moon wizards, so it was less probable to find a soulmate and gain power. Gladly the spirits aren't stupid and not only mixed up markings but refused to create eclipse wizard after you and your brother, in fear they only be hunted. They even procrastinated your marking's appearance to the last day, aren't I right?" 

It all made sense now. Atsumu quickly connected all the dots and jumped up from the bench. 

"So you mean my parents planned all this, hid the Nekoma book somewhere we could find and just– they did it on purpose?!" 

Morisuke's grin widened, happy about the fact Atsumu wasn't upset but fascinated with the effort his parents had put in. He gave a short nod, before standing up himself. 

"There is not only one book, but many scattered around the kingdom, for the possibility that something went wrong. It was probably a lot of luck, tio. There were parts they couldn't have known. I was expecting Osamu and Suna, your brother and his soulmate, Zota had told me about a while ago. When he had called last week just before you and Sakusa arrived, he told me you had made it into the moon kingdom and you had suddenly met your soulmate. Knowing Suna and Osamu had already mastered the soulmate thing, he wanted you to go here", Morisuke pointed to Sakusa,"With him, of all creatures. To learn how to– you know– soulmate." 

With every other piece of information he obtained, everything made more and more sense to Atsumu. What he still didn't get was how everyone was so interested in Sakusa. They would eye him suspiciously, judging him silently or pay a lot of attention to him. 

"Since then, we didn't get another word from Zota", Morisuke said through gritted teeth. He had a feeling he knew why that was, which reminded him to try and contact Nekomata as soon as possible.

"What is everyone's deal with Sakusa? I wanna like him and trust him, but everyone being so wary of him makes me second guess…" 

He quickly followed after when Morisuke walked up to Tetsurou, giving a small kiss to his forehead, which the taller man had to crouch down for. Without looking back at Atsumu, Morisuke replied. 

"I'm afraid, it is not my place to tell you. You have to figure it out on your own, Atsumu." It pained Morisuke greatly to do this in his own interest, but Atsumu would forgive him. 

No one had the right to give their biased opinion on whether soulmates should be together or not. If Atsumu decided Sakusa was no good because of him, the man couldn't ever forgive himself. The future of the world depended on it. He didn't want the spirit of the eclipse to be against him, either. 

Now it was Atsumu who felt like it was not his place to ask more questions about Sakusa. The prince was  _ his  _ soulmate and he had to get to know him alone. Shouldn't be too hard, right? But of course that didn't mean Atsumu couldn't expand his knowledge elsewhere. 

"So, is that the only other tribe close to us? How many are there? Do they all have mostly one animal like you and cats?"

Morisuke shifted his weight, rubbing his forehead as he tried to remember all the details. "The other one close to us is Fukurodani. It was known as the owl tribe, but they had abandoned old rules much earlier than us, what led them to now have a bunch of different animal forms. For example, their leader Bokuto Koutarou, a great warrior, has the form of a panda bear. His advisor, well, boyfriend, is a white Jaguar. The foxes from Inarizaki, the eagles from shiratorizawa and so on." 

Now again it was plainly obvious how little knowledge Atsumu had of the world outside of his own kingdom. If he really wanted to free his mother, he would need more than that, he knew this.

"That's a lot of Animagus… What about other creatures? I remember reading about some, but I can't quite recall." 

"Well, there are the nixen and pirates from Aoba Johsai. They possess magical artifacts that let them change between being mermaids and having wings or being human. As you know, most creatures are environmental, and this also affects magic. That would exclude Animagus, centaurs, mermaids and the likes who are humanoid. Of course, they all have preferred habitats, but they do travel and get around a lot. There's the bakeneko and nekomata. Besides humanly creatures, there are kelpies and trolls. There's dragons and occamy. Um, also pegasi, alicorn and the likes. Griffons and hippogriffs. Fairies as well as elves. Pretty much everything you can think of."

"And shapeshifters", added Atsumu with a foul taste in his mouth. 

"Right", Morisuke said with a sigh,"Those, too." 

Noticing the shift in atmosphere, Atsumu quickly changed the subject as he followed Morisuke along. "I heard Tetsurou talk about deliveries the other day, what's that all about?" 

Silently, Morisuke thanked the boy. "Well for example, the weaponry your  _ man _ just hurt my man with was delivered to us from Date Tech in exchange for booze and medical supplies. Each of the tribes specialized in one or more areas and we trade with one another, keeping our markets booming. Inarizaki plants most of the food such as potatoes, peas but most importantly rice. Fukurodani are best at construction, they are the ones who come over to repair our bungalows in case something happens. Shiratorizawa also plants, but different from Inarizaki, most of their plantings are fruit based, they live just across the asteria desert." 

"What's that?", Atsumu wondered sarcastically. It wasn't like he was right there when he and the others got a hold of the stardust.

"I'm glad you asked!", Morisuke beamed. It seemed to Atsumu Kenma and Morisuke had yet to talk. Tetsurou and he  _ just  _ got back after all. "It's one of my favorite places! Do you remember the place where you wound up after using the portkey?" 

Atsumu nodded. He didn't have the heart to tell Morisuke he already knew about the stars. "How would I forget that? I was knocked out for  _ hours _ !" 

"Well, the portkey spits you out in the exact middle of the desert. At day, it's unbearably hot, but at night shooting stars fall to the floor, filled with stardust, gems and crystals we use in our remedies. However, they must be collected at night and opened immediately, otherwise the materials are useless. It's my favorite mission of all, because...–", the man stilled, thinking about his husband with adoration in his eyes. Too caught up in his little daydream, Morisuke hummed quietly, before turning back to Atsumu. 

"It's where he confessed to me. He made the betrothal necklace out of the first shooting star we found together."

Holding on to his necklace the man smiled from ear to ear. "I hope you and Sakusa can get along. Not just for me. For everyone."

Morisuke had been surprised as well. As far as the prince went as Atsumu's soulmate, Morisuke had no other choice but to trust him, even if it played right into his hands. However, this also played in Morisuke's own hands. 

"Yeah",breathed Atsumu,"me too." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you guys think, any ideas on what I might be hinting? ;) You'll find out soon enough.  
> Get ready for the next chapter, it will be a little heavy if you like Fukurodani background characters, sorry in advance :P


	12. I Think I Forgot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shifting tribes, I give you insight on Fukurodani and what our other characters are up to. A few things happen and our sun and moon duo are confronted with real terror. What will they do next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you all saw 'Major Character Death' in the tags, but I am here to tell you, you're probably not ready for this. Pls don't kill me once you read this chapter and feel free to yell at me in the comments.
> 
> Shout-out to my art friend Yami for being the one responsible for (redacted)'s death.
> 
> Enjoy??

_ October 5th _

Hinata and Tsukishima were running out of breath. 

Right after the call with Zota, the boys had put it upon themselves to get out of the eclipse kingdom and as close to Nekoma as magically possible, so they could meet up with Sakusa and Atsumu and voice their concerns. 

It was of great importance to them to have an eye on Sakusa and test out if their fears were correct. Zota had tried to reach them, but couldn't get through to either Morisuke nor Atsumu. Hinata wanted to apologise to his best friend and help by fighting alongside him, but to do that, they had to find them first. 

Zota had reached out to the kingdom closest to Nekoma and sent them on their way the exact same way Atsumu and Sakusa had traveled; by book! 

When they arrived, falling down on a thick branch of a gigantic tree, the first thing Tsukishima did was vomit his guts out. The transportation method felt extreme for first timers and had him react this way, because he wasn't used to it. As the Onigiri he ate earlier fell out of him in a painfully retch, he swore to never travel like this again.

Hinata wanted to help the other, rubbing hands over Tsukishima's back, but jumped out of his skin when he noticed a white Jaguar silently watching them from the bottom of the tree, out of the corner of his eye. The glasses Tsukishima wore fell to the ground next to the animal, but it didn't even so much as blink.

Tsukishima only noticed the brightness around him when it was too late. Itmercilessly burned his eyes immediately upon opening them. Tsukishima groaned in pain. He had never felt this miserable, and it would only get worse when Hinata started talking. 

"Uh, Tsukki? Can big cats climb trees..?", Hinata had asked, his voice trembling in angst. 

In one moment Tsukishima's glasses fell to the ground and in the next, the Jaguar grabbed onto the tree stump with its big paws, holding on tight with its claws. Within three jumps, making the whole tree shutter, the Jaguar was right next to the two boys. It sat down like a cat, perfectly balanced. Its eyes were cold, staring down at them like a winter breeze biting at their cheeks. It was looking at them and for a second Hinata felt something strange. He couldn't quite place it, but it was peaceful, harmonic even. 

The Jaguar had grabbed them like cubs by their clothes and took them on a shakey journey. Halfway through, Hinata wasn't even frightened anymore and just made sure Tsukishima was feeling okay, who was gagging every now and then. 

"How are we gonna get to Fukurodani when this thing thinks we are it's babies?", Hinata had asked, without getting any response from either of them. The Jaguar was leading them somewhere, in the depths of the creepy forest.

At first, Hinata couldn't recognize it, having thought Tsukishima would know when he saw it. Since this was off the table, Hinata had rambled on about how everything looked in detail, asking the Jaguar silly questions, he didn't expect any answers from. At the time, it was more enjoyable than talking to Tsukishima, since he was not only in pain but also a big grump about it.

When the Jaguar finally let them down, it was quiet. Silently, while walking by their side, it would look at each of them once in a while. Hinata could run away, but Tsukishima would never be able to keep up and Hinata wouldn't just leave his soulmate with a wild beast. Unfortunately the beast seemed to know that too. Walking in front of them quietly, the Jaguar had stopped once. Limping along, Tsukishima didn't know if he could take much more of it and was angry about the fact Hinata was unscratched. Cold eyes looked at Hinata, motioning to it's back. To the animal's relief, Hinata understood what it was saying and dragged Tsukishima on top of the beast. 

"What", Tsukishima grunted,"What are you doing!?"

"Just lie down!", Hinata sighed. "It wants to carry you." 

An hour passed and the Jaguar snickered at the two men arguing. 

"What if we just– run away?" 

"Hinata, you pea brain, we can't outrun a jaguar!" 

"Stop now. We have arrived", the jaguar had said. Hinata had almost wet his pants at the shock he felt when the animal started speaking out of the blue.

"Hinata, did the Jaguar just talk?" 

It turned out the Jaguar was none other than Akaashi Keiji, one of the clan members of Fukurodani. Still riding the enormous animal's back the two wizards were introduced to their leader, Koutarou Bokuto, after Keiji had walked them all the way to the palace. 

When Hinata was led through the castle with Tsukishima clasping his hand tightly, he had expected a big, intimidating creature sitting on the throne, something somewhat similar to a wild cat with big fangs and claws. What he saw instead was a massive Panda bear, eating what looked to be bamboo, to it's heart's content. 

"Koutarou, I brought the wizards", Keiji said bowing, before letting the wizards jump off. He lay down behind the big bear. The Jaguar curled itself around the leader, falling asleep almost instantly. 

"Thank you, Keiji! Sleep well, you deserve it." 

Yet again, Hinata was at a loss of words. He needed somewhat of an explanation as to why they were able to talk. He knew about familiars, but these weren't like any familiars he had ever seen. Leaning into Tsukishima's ear, the sun wizard whispered into it. 

"There's the leader, we should bow or something", Hinata said, expertly leaving out the part where the leader was a panda bear.

Tsukishima didn't hesitate to click his tongue. "Oh, heck no. I'm not bowing, I can't even see what the fuck–"

Koutarou rose from his throne, a big smile plastered on his animalistic features and he turned, suddenly a butt naked human for Hinata to see. 

"Oh shit", Hinata cursed, shielding his eyes, but it was already too late. He had seen the entirety of the clan leader's body, but the muscular man didn't mind at all. On the contrary, all the other creatures in the room didn't pay him any mind, like this was a natural occurrence. 

"Bokuto, put on some clothes, dammit", a strawberry blond man said upon walking in, looking his leader in the eyes before throwing a bunch of clothes his way. 

"You got it, Akinori!!" 

Without question, Koutarou pulled on his clothes. In the meantime, Tsukishima and Hinata just stood at the foot of the small flight of stairs, waiting for the man. 

Konoha made his way over to the two wizards, sending an apologetic smile their way. "I'm sorry, he's always a little careless like that. I'm Konoha Akinori and in charge here." 

"Lies", said Keiji's sleeping form from behind the throne. 

"Why can't you just sleep in your quarters like  _ everyone else, hm?", _ Konoha turned, sounding fully offensive, but Keiji only snickered. Hinata found this exchange to be slightly amusing and he stifled a laugh.

"Don't wanna. Besides, it smells like Koutarou in here and if I'm not with him at all times, I die." 

Konoha rolled his eyes. "You can survive a day or two, demon." 

But once again, all Keiji said was "Don't wanna." 

Eyes closed, trying his best not to lose his cool, Konoha took a deep breath, smiling at the visitors before him again. "Why don't I show you guys around?" 

Sighing a little, Hinata nodded. Grabbing Tsukishima's hand and pulling the annoyed man along, Hinata followed after Konoha.

*

Learning about the members of Fukurodani and their customs one by one in a crash course was the most fun Hinatas had since this whole debacle started. In comparison to Tsukishima, Hinata didn't feel fatigued at all and dragged the blonde with him as best as he could. Not even the constant complaining bothered Hinata. With everything else going on he was able to distract himself easily and he welcomed the chance happily.

"Over there in the hut we have Yukie, she is our local healer and  _ my _ best friend", Akinori said, holding his nose high in praise. "She is the best when it comes to saving our lives on the daily, she has never failed once! I trust her with my life." 

The man knocked on the glass of the window and walked through the door without waiting for a reply. Inside sat a brown haired woman, mixing together herbs and other things while eating a big bowl of soup. 

"Sup, Yukie?", Akinori asked, wrapping his arms around the woman from behind her while she worked. Although she seemed really engrossed in her work and food, she leaned back into the embrace with a cute smile. "Suuup." 

"We have visitors from the eclipse kingdom! These are Hinata and Tsukishima! Tsukishima unfortunately got blinded a lot, do you maybe have anything to help with that?" 

A cute sound escaped Yukie as she finished up her soup, thinking hard about a possible solution. She took a look at the eyes, rubbing her chin as she walked around the hut with purpose in her step. 

"It looks pretty bad", she began,"but after a long while of treatment, it should get better. Not 100% back to normal, but better than nothing, I presume. We'll need some of that stardust from our neighbors, though." 

"We'll get that then. Thanks, babe." 

"No problem, babe", Yukie grinned. "Now shoo, you big idiot, I got work to do!" 

As soon as they left the hut, Akinori felt a weird feeling creeping up his back. Normally, he would have been able to ignore it, but it was daunting on him, that something was amiss. 

"Hinata, Tsukishima, come with me, fast." 

He took one last glance at the hut, contemplating about alarming the girl. He shook his head, fully reminding himself Yukie was more than capable of protecting herself and others. Akinori charged in the opposite direction. "Follow me." 

Confused as to what was going on, Hinata grabbed his soulmate and ran after Konoha as fast as he could. They were going back to the main room where Keiji had dropped them off, looking around alarmed. It seemed the entire clan knew something was wrong. They had all gathered in the big hall.

Koutarou was standing firm on his throne. One foot on the arm rests each. "So you noticed, too. We are trying to find it as soon as possible, but it's not looking good." 

"What is going on here?", Hinata asked fearfully, his grip on Tsukishima's tender skin tightening. He was clasping his hands so tightly, Tsukishima was about to protest, but the atmosphere was static. Tsukishima decided to hold his mouth shut. 

"There is an imposter among us. A shapeshifter. And if they are wise, they will show themselves right now and fight fair." 

Whispers spread over the crowd of creatures. When it parted in the middle, it revealed a small person, a hood covering their face. They stood themselves at the foot of the throne before taking off their hood, looking over the members of Fukurodani with malice in their green, piercing eyes. They looked exactly like Konoha, but their clothes and eyes were entirely different.

"My name is Yami", they declared darkly. Konoha thought he might throw up on the spot. "And it's already too late. You're doomed." 

Silence befell the room. The quiet was broken when Komi shouted from one of the other rooms. Yami looked pleased with their work. "THERE'S A BOMB!" 

Everything felt like it was in a haze. Everybody moved so slowly in front of Akinori's eyes, even though he was sure they were running. He thought to see the intruder wave at him. His own face, smiling back at him. A tiny smile on their lips,  _ his lips,  _ that made him nauseous. Jumping out of the window skillfully, they mouthed  _ Game over.  _ This was the last he could see of them. __

Akinori thought he heard Koutarou yell at Keiji to protect the soulmates. Good. One less problem to worry about. Onto the next one. Where was everyone? Right, the other room. The bomb. 

Arriving in the room, Komi was pointing at the small bundle at the floor. They had distanced themselves from it, unsure what to do, because it might go off any second. "THERE'S NO TIME LEFT! YOU NEED TO RUN!!", another one of Akinori's friends yelled in a panic. 

No. This couldn't be happening. There had to be something he could do. Cover it. But with what? There was nothing in this room that would help in any kind or form. But there was  _ still _ a way. Akinori just wasn't sure he liked the idea.

He knew for a fact he would be fast enough to escape and get away unscratched. But them? Sarukui? Komi? Yukie? That's right, she had no idea what was going on, her hut just far enough to hear the commotion but not be affected by it. She could definitely sense something was wrong, just like he had. Yukie would be with him soon. The thought relaxed his muscles.

Yukie was safe. What a relief.

Akinori knew what he had to do in order to save his friends, but it left a foul taste in his mouth. He looked back at them, dead serious but also trembling all over. 

He could definitely die if he made the wrong judgement, but at what cost was he willing to offer his life. If the exchange for his life was his friend's safety, then Akinori would have been fine with it. Theoretically.

"GET AS FAR AWAY AS YOU CAN, IT'S GONNA BE OKAY!",he yelled out, moving towards the unpredictable time bomb on the floor. 

"NO, NORI WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? GET AWAY!!", Washio yelled out, reaching out to his friend, but Sarukui held him back by his shirt.

"I said GET  _ AWAY _ !!  **_NOW_ ** _! _ ", Konoha's tone left no room for argument and his friends– no, his family stumbled out of the room to get to safety.

Only Washio lingered. He stared at Konoha, his hands balled into fists. "I'll see you–"

Deep down, it hurt, but he knew there was no other way. "Yeah. See ya later." 

Akinori hoped that next time he meets Washio, it will be in a different life under better circumstances. __

But he couldn't dwell on that. All he could do was wish as he prepared for the worst. The only thing on his mind was his family. He needed to protect his family and those close to him, no matter the cost. There was nothing else he was able to think about when he wrapped his entire body around the damned thing, waiting for it to go off.

_ This is the end _ , the animagus thought to himself, as he felt everyone else's presence wither. 

_ Jack of all trades, signing off. _   
  
  


*

The explosion shook Yukie to her very core. She ran as fast as her feet would take her, stumbling once; twice. Hugging her materials close to her chest, Yukie ran through the thick cloud of dust. Waving it away with one hand she climbed over the broken pieces that were left of the wall. There was a big gaping hole where Yukie would normally lean against the wall and wait for her friend.

When her eyes fell on the body around the worst point of the explosion, her heart stopped beating for a good five seconds.

"...No.." 

Yukie got closer, catching a glimpse of the head, with strawberry blonde hair and eyes so wide open, you could read the terror in them. She checked them for any reaction once; twice. They twitched, before his wet, choked pants rang through Yukie's ears.

She knew from her years of experience and being Konoha's best friend that he knew many ways to stop a bomb. Looking at his blood scattered around the floor, he hadn't seemed to have gotten any time to prepare and execute anything useful. And he paid the price, so his friends wouldn't have to.

"...Yu...k–"

"No…no, don't die on me! Don't you  _ dare _ die on me, you big doofus!!" 

Everything happened so fast. Just a moment ago he was hugging her, praising her for never failing once. Focusing all her strength, she rolled the rumble off him. An agonizing sob escaped her upon seeing the gaping hole and pool of guts at Akinori's torso.

"N–no ...Nori…" 

Yukie didn't know where to look or what to do. She scanned her materials, the wound. At this rate, he would run out of blood. At the same time she listened to the man's short breath, his pants. It sounded like barely any air made it into his lungs at all before it left him in a wheeze.

Grabbing his cheek, Yukie lightly slapped the skin. "Stay awake. I need you– I need you to stay awake, Nori." 

"Y–...you ...got it." 

Pressing down on the open, leaking wound with her poncho, the girl sobbed when the bleeding just didn't seem to want to stop.

In the midst of all the chaos, Akinori's bloodshot eyes focused on his best friend. He maintained all his strength in the firm belief that Yukie would save him.

"Are–.. you… yer gonna heal me, Yukie?", he coughed out, the pain that spasmed through his nerves almost getting him to pass out. Akinori's eyes got droopy against his will. 

"I don't– Nori, you– I don't think I–", Yukie hiccuped, observing the wound. The blood went through the fabric so fast, her fingers were drenched in the hot, red liquid. 

Akinori's blood just wouldn't stop leaking. 

Fukurodani's members had gathered around the woman just a second later, not too close, but not too far either. 

"Make a call and get Kenma here immediately", Koutarou commanded, but Keiji shook his head. 

"We can't reach him and the other magicians are too far…" 

Akinori was starting to lose sight. He held out his hand to Yukie. "It's okay… Could you hold my hand?" 

In his tone it was evident Akinori understood what was happening. Sarukui and Komi were glued on the spot, unable to move even an inch, wet eyes.

Crying, Yukie tenderly took hold of Akinori's outstretched hand and gave it a firm squeeze. All he got in return was a weak pump, a sigh. 

Different from how everyone at Fukurodani thought of Akinori, at that moment his voice was soft. No longer yelling or poking fun, no longer full of life. None of them, not Koutarou or Keiji, had anything in their disposal to help their friend. They knew this was the end. And so did Washio. So did Yukie. 

"Are you still… Yukie, you there?", Akinori breathed out painfully as his eyes got dull. He barely noticed Washio and the other side. 

Unable to hold in her sobs, Yukie cried on their jointed hands. She looked at the black haired man opposite her and sniffled. "I'm– I'm still here, Nori. I'm here. Washio is here, too." 

"Oh. Good." 

Seconds felt like an eternity wherein nothing seemed to change, except for the puddle of blood the girl found herself in. 

"Hey, Nori", Washio rasped, voice thick. "Promise me I'll see you again… promise me and Yukie this isn't the last time…"

"In our next life…", Akinori coughed, before he almost passed out again.

There had to be something they could do, anything to make this living nightmare find and end. Konoha was dying; very very slowly.

"Yukie? Washio...are … you still here?", the boy sounded again, weaker with every other word. He wasn't thinking straight, judgement closed from the intense, numbing pain.

"I'm here", Yukie's voice trembled as she pulled his hand to her heart,". We're here. We are not leaving you." 

"Hey, Yukie. Don't… don't tell Washio, but… I've always been… in", Akinori began, the sound of his voice so thin, it made Yukie's hair stand on end. "I've been in ...–" 

The statement hung in the air, unfinished. Wiping away her tears, getting blood all over her face, the brunette was trying to see Akinori's face. Washio watched her silently as realization kicked in.

Death stared back at her, as the man took his last breath mid-sentence. Open eyes with the life drained out of them in the shell of a person she once knew. It was painful in a way that went deeper than anything Yukie had ever felt before. She couldn't quite believe the person in front of her was Akinori and she couldn't imagine what Washio may have felt. 

But it was undeniable. It was him. On the floor. Dead. He was dead. Konoha Akinori was dead.

Yukie let a shaky breath escape her lips before the real first realization settled in her mind. 

"Nori… Konoha..  _ KONOHA!" _

Another agonizing wail rippled through her, leaving Yukies throat sore, but she couldn't care less. She could heal herself easily. But this? It was plainly impossible. Everyone who stood by her side could see that with a single glance. 

"Washio, we gotta– you gotta–", the girl sobbed out. When she looked back at the other, she could see tears running down his face. They were black. Both of them knew what this meant, but neither wanted to make this moment worse than it already was. 

"It's too late", he said, lips trembling as he slid Akinori's static eyes shut," he's gone." 

In her numbing sadness, Yukie scrambled to gather her materials, sobbing out even louder at the feeling of his skin. It was so familiar and yet so strange. This was not her Konoha. 

"Nori! Nori I'm sorry… I'm so sorry", she hiccuped. She wiped her hot tears, his blood all over her hands and the salty liquid mixed with the red one. "No… no no no no no  _ no!"  _

Burying her face in her bloodied hands, Yukie bawled her eyes out. She blamed herself. Maybe if she had been a little bit faster, maybe if she had stayed with him, none of that would have happened. But  _ maybe _ doesn't let her go back and save him.  _ Maybe _ doesn't make it alright.

Her foolishness cost Washio a soulmate and everyone else a family member.

All they could do was watch. 

There was no one coming for help. There was no magic that brought back the dead. And they were all still in danger, now more than ever, because a shapeshifter was able to sneak into their hidden camp. 

This was the hard and crushing reality.

  
*  
  
  


The boys were left unsupervised in their own sleeping quarters after the situation had relatively calmed down. Their day had been long and tiring, making their muscles ache from being overused and their minds heavy with how helpless they really were. How dangerous everything really was. 

They could've died today, had it not been for Konoha. 

Hinata had only known him for a few minutes tops, but even if he had only seen a fraction of the man, knowing he left the land of the living, hurt Hinata. He couldn't imagine how badly Yukie and all the others must be hurting. 

Hinata would make sure no one loses their life on his watch ever again. Not if he can help it.

The light of the real sun had made Hinata feel a bit livelier throughout their arrival, filling him with newfound energy, but it lay heavy in his bones. After all, it was the sun that burned Tsukishima's eyes massively, too. The sun that didn't stop shining even when someone lost their life. 

Hinata felt like it wasn't his place to be very sad in a situation as such. Yukie was allowed to grieve. Washio was allowed to, all the Fukurodani members did, so the wizard tried to think of ways to help. They had to treat this whole shapeshifters problem at the root.

"Do you think a spell will help? Some medicine?", asked Hinata quietly as he wiggled out of his clothes next to his bed. He couldn't tell how bad Tsukishima's eyes were until he took a good look at them. He didn't get the chance to, yet. Tsukishima would always turn away from him, eyes closed.

Tsukishima sat at the opposite end of the bed, the only thing he was paying attention to were his fingers. He was fiddling around with them, not really listening all the way. Only after Hinata cleared his throat loudly did he snap out of it, turning in the direction of the noise. 

Hinata repeated himself. "Do you think there is anything that could help? Any magic?" 

"No. No, I don't think so. This might be permanent, even after what Yukie said. Whatever it meant." 

From his seat on the floor, untying his shoes, Hinata scoffed. "I'm sure we can fix it somehow! I know we can!" 

Hinata wanted to convey how much of this world was still unknown to them and that somehow there must be a magical medicine to help him see again, but alas his words didn't quite get there.

"No, really. I'm sure Suna told you I studied your kind; well, sun wizards, but I studied myself, too. So believe me when I tell you, I don't think my eyes are gonna be okay again. At all." 

Hinata wished for nothing more than for Tsukishima to be wrong. He wanted to help, but all he could do was stare in silence. Never in his life had he been the one with the ideas or the solutions and for the longest time he had been okay with that, but right now he cursed himself for it. This didn't mean he would give up, though.

Another thought shot through his head as he watched Tsukishima rip the first layer of skin off his fingers around his nails. He wanted to reach out and make him stop, but he felt stiff. 

"Do you think they were soulmates?", he breathed. 

Tsukishima's fiddling stopped and he exhaled a deep breath, continuing to nibble at the sensitive skin with his teeth instead. 

"Maybe. But I doubt it, to be honest. At least not romantically." 

Hinata cocked his head to the right. He had been talking about Waisho, but Tsukishima must mean Yukie. "There's more types of soulmates? How many are there?" 

"No idea", Tsukishima confessed. "I just think their love was probably platonic." 

" _ Palatonic _ ? What's that, Tsukki?" 

Tsukishima sighed, wincing at sudden pain. When Hinata's hand came in contact with his shoulder, it was gone, but it could also have been him stopping to mouth at his small injuries. " _ Platonic _ ", Tsukishima corrected him. 

"It's the same love, but not romantically. When you love your best friend without the wanting to kiss and hold hands stuff." 

Silence filled the room. "You didn't get it, did you?" 

"No, I did!", Hinata protested. 

"Are you lying to me?" 

"... Yes." 

Tsukishima almost chuckled. It wasn't the easiest topic to grasp, but explaining it to Hinata was fun, somehow. 

"If a soulmate is a part of you that was missing, that makes you feel whole, then I think romantic love and platonic love share that space. Romance is not more important. It's like loving your best friend, but only as a best… friend." 

Before Tsukishima could stop himself, he noticed how he had thrown salt into one of Hinata's countless wounds. 

"Uh, yeah. I get it now, thanks. Let's just heal ourselves up and get some sleep … alright? We had a long day." 

Gently, Hinata ran his hands over Tsukishima's body, turning his aura into magic and transferring it to the blondes wounds, making the heal process so fast, each and every little scratch was nowhere to be seen in the blink of an eye.

When it was Tsukishima's turn to heal Hinata upon his request, the moon wizard asked for guidance. He conjured up his wand, telling Hinata to point the end of it to his wounds. As the redhead did so, Tsukishima's mind wandered. 

Hinata was laying down as Tsukishima healed him, which the man couldn't see. "Do you think– if we had put our magic together, do you think we could have saved Konoha?"

After several seconds of waiting he still didn't get a response, figuring Hinata had rested his eyes before passing out from exhaustion. On the other hand Tsukki lay awake. He glanced out to where he thought the window was, cursing the sun and asking the moon if there was a way he would ever see the light of day again without having to pay the price with the one sense he kind of enjoyed. It was the first sense that took notice of Hinata. He had to get it back.

*

  
  
  


_ October 6th _

One day after their arrival, the wizards had immediately begun training. Keiji was a ruthless teacher and brought them to a massive hill right behind Fukurodani, still amidst their protection barrier. It had been used as training grounds for millennia, the paths overused and a few patterns plainly visible to Hinata. Excitement filled him at the thought of tough training and he tried to share his enthusiasm with Tsukishima as best as he could.

"Tsukki, move, move!! I know you're faster than that!", Bokuto yelled out from the top of the hill. Even though almost the entire length of the hill was between them, Tsukishima heard the leader's voice loud and clear. It was annoying.

"My name… is… Tsukishima. Only … only Hinata can call me that", Tsukishima panted. He supported himself with his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Air around him got thinner by the second and smelled like earth. It was refreshing as well as utterly irritating. 

The hill they were running up seemed endless with thick fog blocking even his movements, but Hinata next to him seemed completely fine. It may be just him who couldn't see, but had he not told Hinata about it, he wouldn't worry now. It only distracted him from the mission at hand, so Tsukishima kept quiet about any complaints. 

"Just a little more, Tsukki. Come on, I gotchu", Hinata smiled. He grabbed Tsukishima's hands with a sweet grin and walked backwards, making it easier for the blonde to keep his pace without falling over loose vines and branches.

The two wizards had traveled to Fukurodani's borders with one simple goal in mind. To get stronger, fast. What they didn't know was, in order to become stronger, the boys had to strengthen their bond through all means necessary. They knew from a talk with Zota that teamwork exercises were a great way to practice, but also just being with the soulmate, listening, talking and understanding them were important things to learn. 

"Koutarou, they are doing it by accident. I'm quite impressed, though they express it through … well, fighting." 

"Let them. It's a lot harder to understand this stuff through explaining. Doing it like that from the start will help them a lot, I'm sure." 

The two Animagus were watching the wizards from the top of the hill, eyes so well trained, they could see through the fog, examining the way they acted towards one another. Keiji definitely saw the potential, but he would need to have a serious talk with Tsukishima about his choice of words, though Hinata didn't seem to mind it. However, if the message could be conveyed in a friendlier way, maybe Hinata would respond even faster with even more enthusiasm. 

"That's it, you're doing great, Tsukki…", Hinata praised, rubbing Tsukishima's hands with his thumbs. 

"Can you  _ shut up?! _ I'm  _ trying not _ to suffocate! Go slower, geez!" 

Keiji sniffed the air and nudged Koutarou with his nose. "It's going to rain soon, let's go back in. I don't want them getting sick while training." 

"We should also make sure no one uses the rain to hide themselves. Tell the guards to take extra precautions." 

Smiling, Keiji waited for a tick. 

"Did I use that word correctly, Ji?"

Placing his palm against the soft cheek of his boyfriend, Keiji sighed happily. "Yes, indeed. I shall do that." 

The two men shared a soft kiss, staring into each other's eyes before the second kiss was a bit longer, and the one after that even longer. They giggled, brushing their noses together in adoration and affection, before changing into their animal forms and swooping their disciples up. They made their way back home. 

The Animagus tribe of Fukurodani, led by Koutarou Bokuto and Keiji Keiji, was hidden away in the forest next to Nekoma with a powerful spell, designed by Zota. He had called the men in advance, asking them for their help in training Hinata, Tsukishima, Suna and Osamu. However, Suna and Osamu had already mastered the needed technique and didn't need any more training. Instead, Zota had put the two of them in charge of preparations. Besides, Osamu and Suma could always become Animagus later on. But sadly, Zota saw no other choice for the other four than to make them learn it now.

When the other wizards were done with their training, they would need a way back into the kingdom, but that was easier said than done. Traveling by book only brought people from point A to destination B and couldn't be used without the corresponding key. Since neither of the tribes had one of those, Osamu and Suna had to find a way to break the protection spell that prevented anything from going into the kingdom or out. 

"How did we even survive that long if no fresh air comes in? How did the port keys work, when your spell is protecting us!? Does the spell let in air but nothing except that? If that's not the real moon and sun, why does our ecosystem respond to it? Where do we get our food from, is it even nutritious?" 

"My spell is designed to protect from possible threats. I'm also an asshole and designed it so anyone I want can get in and out together; the condition I set was that if you want to port through, you need a portkey. The thing is, I don't operate it anymore, I have no control over any of the barriers I made. The others could be practically naked, so I am working on a new spell. Also, air is not a threat, so it comes through. Our ecosystem is still flourishing through magic and before you ask, yes, we eat magic and yes it is very nutritious, but we also get deliveries from Shiratorizawa and Inarizaki", answered Zota, to what might have been his son's millionth question now. He couldn't blame him for wanting to build a new foundation that wasn't made of lies. He was glad his son tried to understand.

"How come you know all of  _ that _ but you forgot how to– how to undo it!!?", the boy cursed, holding his hands above his head in distress. He was pacing from left to right, closely observed by Suna, who wore a bored expression. 

"I told you, the king must've blocked that memory from my memory. When I try to remember there is just static and there is nothing to undo shapeshifter memory loss." 

Osamu kept pacing, thinking long and hard about the given information and what it told him. There had to be something at least a little useful. 

"I'm glad that there isn't much that could make this situation worse, because it's gonna take forever for us to crack this, but it's also gonna take Atsumu and the prince forever to work together, too…", Suna sighed, playing with his wand as he placed it on his upper lip, holding it up with a grimace. "He didn't want to be the prince's soulmate at all and I don't think that changed or will change soon." 

"But like– that's hella counterproductive. They have to, like, fuck as in– like each other; at least. But they both have a stick up their ass." 

Zota scoffed noisily. "You know your brother for a few hours and you already talk about him like that. Samu, Not everyone has sex everyday", he rolled his eyes. "Besides, you don't need to.. fuck, for your bond to be strengthened or be strong at all. Asexual wizards exist, too, you know, but it does help some to figure things out. Teamwork, understanding, a lot of effort and love are needed. They need to be friends, before they can form a strong bond. I wish I could tell him, but my magic can't reach Nekoma. I'm not sure why." 

"Well, we better find out fast." 

Suna was fairly certain that every piece of information that was missing was a piece of memory having been taken and locked away from Zota's brain and he wasn't sure how to get it back. For some reason, however, his fingers couldn't stop itching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi,, Konoha stans pls don't kill me :')   
> Oh and btw... this is not the only death :) Just so you guys know you should prepare your asses, it's gonna get a little... well, I'm sure you have an idea   
> Next chapter comes later today or tomorrow night!!  
> Love, y'alls Tetsu


	13. Rain Is Where It Started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys encounter rain for the first time.. or do they? And Morisuke makes Atsumu read

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point I hope everyone is very confused. If you are confused, good. Keep reading, it's gonna get worse :)   
> Like allways I'm giving big hints in the storytelling, but I bet no one has a clue what they actually are hehe
> 
> Enjoy :3

_October 13th_

The next morning should have been refreshing for Atsumu, but he groaned in pain while he stretched his limbs. After training everyday, be it magic practice with Kenma or combat with Tora and Fukunaga he was aching all over from it, a bedhead making him look as sleepy as he felt. His mind wandered over the happenings of the previous week and because of this he was surprised to find himself alone in bed. 

_ What would Sakusa even be doing all by himself? _ thought Atsumu as he rolled over and took all the space for himself.  _ He still can't even see. _

The young wizard knew he had to get up eventually. Still, it took him a few minutes of contemplating before he was able to gather himself up. Atsumu yawned noisily and got dressed into the new clothes already put out for him. As he pulled on layer upon layer, he thought about where Sakusa would be and what they would have to do that day. He was keen on finding out how much longer they would have to stay. If leaving sooner meant freeing his mom faster, then there would be nothing able to stop him. Of course certain things took their time, but he also didn't want to waste any of it, so it was important for him to acquire as much knowledge as he could. Knowing that time was dire, he wanted to save his mother as soon as he possibly could.

When he stepped outside, he was hit with water. His eyes fluttered reflexively and he held up his hands, shielding his honey eyes so he could see. At first, he was startled, because he didn't understand where it was coming from. Atsumu looked up and noticed it was falling from the sky. 

"Is that… rain?" 

In all his life, Atsumu had never felt rain on his skin. Where he lived, the sun always shone non-stop. No clouds or anything else were ever seen. All he knew about rain, he found out through books or from his mother telling him stories about how she and Hinata's mother had played together when they were younger. From there on out, Atsumu wanted to experience a real rain puddle and jump in. He never expected to get a chance. 

It was pouring down heavily, drenching the first layer of clothing he had on. This explained the change of clothes and the many layers; it was to keep him warm. 

Atsumu closed the door to the bungalow behind himself and walked about the empty, muddy paths, in search of someone who could help him. It seemed not many people were around, considering how busy the streets were just a day ago. Did Animagus not like water? Or was it just the cats? 

Far off, Atsumu heard explosions and a few voices, which were either cheering or just straight up yelling the prince's name. At that, Atsumu's ears perked up. His shoes left a muddy trail behind him as he walked over the stone road to the source of all the noise.

Sakusa was there, wielding his wand in one hand, panting heavily as he tried to keep up with the animagus before him. The prince was barely holding himself up, knees pressed into the mud so he wouldn't fall and lose the fight. His opponent was none other than Morisuke. 

The animagus was leaning forward, his bum in the air and his chin on the handle of his sword, which's tip he had buried in the dirt. He was grinning down at Sakusa, double ended tail whipping behind him, the rain that fell in thick droplets left behind in the back of their minds. Sakusa seemed beat, but his eyes were flaring. Atsumu could tell that his soulmate wouldn't give up any time soon. He took a little pride in that, knowing Morisuke was a formidable enemy in combat. Atsumu wouldn't want him as his enemy.

"You only have to get me once. I thought you'd be able to do at least that, Sakusa." 

Sakusa wiped the mud off his face, spitting out what seemed to be a little blood. 

_ So, that's what Morisuke meant by not going easy on us, huh…  _ Atsumu thought to himself as he watched how Sakusa stood up, his knees muddled like the rest of him when he tried to stay balanced. The boy was cursing under his breath as he looked around for anything that could help him defeat Morisuke, but everything was blurry. All good fighters used their environment to help themselves. In Sakusa's case, it made everything worse. 

When Sakusa looked over, his eyes met Atsumu's. He was standing there in the rain, his hair flat against his forehead, just like it had been yesterday in the shower. But it wasn't the same. Now it was raining. 

"Rain…", he heard himself whisper. Morisuke's cat ears twitched. Sakusa had felt it before, rain. Up to this point, he just hadn't remembered. The memory came crashing down on him, maybe the heaviest thing he ever had to uplift.

The prince raised his head up to the sky, closed his eyes and let the water drop onto his face. For just a moment he was peaceful and content. In the next moment, he fell unconscious. 

That same day, Sakusa had woken up early, unable to sleep, to find new clothes on a stool next to the bed. He could see a little more clearly, but was only able to tell what it was, upon touching the fabric. Everything else remained a blurry blob of color. 

The sun was just starting to look over the horizon, Sakusa felt it on his skin after washing his face. It was almost too warm for him, having forgotten what it felt like. It brought him back to when times were a lot different, but not necessarily better. 

He stood there for a second, enjoying the warmth on his cold skin. Droplets of water ran down his cheeks and he found his way outside after tripping over only one piece of furniture. Waiting for him outside was Morisuke, with his hands on his hips. As soon as Sakusa was out of the door the man looked up from the floor, greeting the prince friendly, as if he had been waiting for him. To Sakusa it seemed that Morisuke had been up for far longer than him, even though it couldn't be later than 5:00 am. 

"Morning! How was your night, got a good rest, Sakusa?", his voice was chirpy and cheerful. "Are you ready for training? Show me what you've got! I need to find out what you're made of."

Even though Morisuke had initiated to brutally shape them into warriors from day two onward, a few responsibilities had needed immediate attending to over in another dimension. 

At the time, Sakusa had no idea that the man already knew. Probably even better than the prince knew himself, what he was. 

Finally, Morisuke and Tetsurou found the time to bless Kenma's healing ritual, attempting to heal the prince's eyes. After that, they had sparred; a test of Sakusa's abilities, to determine his strengths and weaknesses. They had been at it for hours and it had started to rain halfway through. However, as soon as Atsumu showed up, Sakusa had suddenly passed out. 

Both Morisuke and Atsumu rushed to Sakusa's side. With a little bit of strain on his back, Sakusa was carried to Kenma's cottage by Atsumu. 

"What happened?", the magician had asked, checking Sakusa's pulse with two shaky fingers. The situation was making him jumpy. Not again did he want to fail. Something seemed extremely wrong with the moon wizard, but Kenma couldn't tell what it was, aside from the obvious. It could have been side effects from the ritual, but Kenma had no idea.

"He was fine and then he looked at Atsumu and just dropped like a fly! I don't understand why! Did something happen while I was gone?!" 

Morisuke was rubbing his hair dry, sitting down next to Kenma. Worry clouded his vision, making him forget that he was the adult here, the one in charge. Atsumu couldn't do anything but hold onto his own chest in worry. A wave of hurt overcame him and he fell down, clutching his heart desperately. 

It looked like Kenma and Morisuke could feel the shift in the air, but Atsumu was at a loss for words, suddenly choking on nothing at all. 

"Fuck, fuck! It hurts, it hurts so much! What is this?!" He fell to his knees, clutching at the ground.

Kenma's eyes widened. Mortified, he glanced at Morisuke, but he just shook his head.  _ This is not it.  _

"It's gonna be okay", he said. The young magician hesitated, but let it go. He placed his staff on Sakusa's forehead and did the only thing he could think of. Stop it in its tracks.

"What!? Fuck! What is going on!?", Atsumu yelled through the pain. Another agonizing yell left him while he scratched away at the floor, feeling like someone was trying to suffocate him so inefficiently, he could do a better job by himself. A second later, the feeling was gone and Sakusa snapped up, knocking his head against Kenma's. They groaned in unison and Morisuke couldn't help but snicker. 

When Sakusa's eyes fell on Atsumu, he scrambled next to him, the mud all over him now sticking to Atsumu even more. He got as close as comfortable, their legs intertwined, Atsumu neatly pinned underneath Sakusa. Pleading, purple eyes were searching his face in shock. The color drained as fast as it appeared.

"Are you okay? Atsumu? Atsumu!!" 

Inhaling sharply, Atsumu stared at the other, grabbing him by the collar forcefully. "What's wrong?? You just passed out for a bit, are  _ you _ okay?", Atsumu countered. 

"I'm fine, but I really– … We– we need to talk." 

Atsumu gently pushed Sakusa away by the shoulders, held him at an arm's distance. "O–okay…" 

They exited the cottage, two pairs of eyes on their necks. "They are so stupid, you know that right?" 

"Unfortunately the future of our multiverse rests on their shoulders, Kenma, so we don't really have a choice, now, do we?" 

"I wish Nekomata was here…", Kenma pouted. 

"Well, he's doing peachy over in the other world and told me to tell  _ you _ to stop complaining so much. Also, he gave me this tiny chip?" 

Kenma snatched it from the man, examining the small piece of plastic for only a split second, before he smiled. "He got me the witcher!!"

"What is it?" 

"It's a game for my switch. It's about a cursed man that fights monsters and such, much like in our world. His blood is infected through which he gains powers– It's really cool."

Morisuke laughed at the irony. "Yeah. Cool."

Behind the cottage, Atsumu sat down on a wet tree stump and watched Sakusa do the same. Even though their clothing was wet, they couldn't feel it on their skin. On top of that, it was relatively warm for October. 

Sakusa inhaled deeply, ready to tell the truth when Atsumu interrupted him.

"Before you start! Look, uhm. I know this might sound crazy but like– I really want my mom back and in order to do that I need to become stronger and get along with you. I can't do it alone, I need you for that. I'm not too good with magic or anything in particular, but when I read about– about these soulmates… it gave me a lot of hope", Atsumu said, licking his lips. 

"Let's say– let's  _ assume _ , we  _ are _ soulmates. And our power together would make us a lot stronger, so powerful that we could get my mom and all the other people back and our kingdom free. I think we need to– you know, at least collaborate to make that happen, but I don't know anything about you, at all. I don't know why you are here, why you are doing this, who you really are. I know nothing about you so… let's start by, uhm, getting to know each other? Because if you don't give me at least that much, how will I be able to trust you? To like you? That's needed. Right? Because up until now we just kind of–… co-existed and it's getting us nowhere."

Sakusa was fiddling with his fingers, contemplating on what he should do. What was the smarter– no, the right thing to do? 

_ Would he still be able to like me, if I told him something he wouldn't believe? I can't operate the power on my own if we get it, but maybe I can convince him? Since it's too late for him to hate me, I should at least get the power, right? But what if I told him the truth, would he hate me? He probably would. It's the right thing to do, but makes everything so much more complicated. The more I lie, the more there's no coming back, but… I knew that from the start and yet… Why does my heart feel like it's breaking in two?  _

"You're right", Sakusa finally answered after a moment of quiet. He pulled his muddy locks out of his face and smiled weakly. "It just hurts to think about. My drive, I mean. For the rest I.. I really don't know why I'm here besides the fact that I feel drawn towards you." 

Atsumu's cheeks reddened and he decided to give Sakusa time to open up. He didn't feel good trying to force someone to reveal themselves, just so that he could save his mom faster. His mom was a powerful sorceress, she would be okay for a little while longer.

"I kind of feel the same. I try to push it away so it won't bother me, but I– It's hard to explain and I don't like to think about it", Atsumu confessed. "This is all very new to me and I have to adjust." 

"How about we start by.. trying to be friends?", offered Sakusa, biting his tongue. He felt awful and his chest was aching, but his smile didn't falter. Now was not the time for that. It's okay to be selfish, he told himself. It's okay to want one thing, no matter how to get it. Maybe he would believe his own lies to the point where he thinks it's really okay. Perhaps he would believe himself some day, too.

"Yes. I'd like– I mean, yeah. Sure. That's– fine." 

When awkwardly looking at each other became too much for the both of them, they tried turning the situation around with a firm handshake, which turned into a sad meet of fingers. It made the two wizards fluster until Sakusa couldn't bear it anymore. He hastily made his escape after bowing deeply and Atsumu was left with a red face. When he thought he was alone Atsumu hid his face. Then he felt a hand tug him away. 

"You– Hey, wait up, where are we going?!" 

"To shower and change clothes, we got mud all over, blondie!" 

Back in the hut after cleaning themselves up, dressed in a new change of clothes, Morisuke grabbed hold of the boys. He seemed to be in a rush as he dragged them along, looking around as if he was being followed. Small, quick steps next to the soulmate pair's bigger ones looked quite funny, but it was no different from Morisuke and Tetsurou's. 

"There is so much we need to discuss! First and foremost, you need a training regime! And what you're lacking more than anything, is knowledge! Especially you, Atsumu, since Sakusa got to enjoy royal schooling." 

This revelation of information had Sakusa quietly growling in disapproval, balling his fists. He wiped the freshly built crust of his scraped knuckles away, but the slightest touch hurt him, after having gotten his ass handed to him by Morisuke. He would have to ask Atsumu to heal him at night again. He liked feeling Atsumu's warm hands travel over his body.

"Which is good, I'd like you to work alone, Atsumu." 

Never in his life had Sakusa thought just being robbed of one of his senses would be this tiring and frustrating. To his luck, he casted the pain away to the back of his mind and breathed out in relief at the tension leaving his body, even though real problem wasn't solved. Sakusa laughed inwardly. Yeah, as if some stardust and stupid ritual would heal him. 

"Pardon me, but where are we going in such a hurry?", the prince questioned.

"Why, I'm taking you to the library, obviously! I'll be dropping off Atsumu here and you, Sakusa, will help me out with something. It's time for lunch soon!" 

"Aw, I missed breakfast??", pouted Atsumu, but no one paid him any mind

Without a care, Morisuke left Sakusa standing in the middle of the road, helpless until he would return to guide the boy. Directions weren't his strong suit.

He ushered Atsumu to the entrance, handing him a tiny scrap of paper, before leaving in a hurry. All he could do was watch Morisuke stroll away with Sakusa in tow. He just stood there for a second, reminding himself that he wasn't on vacation, he had things to do. There was a reason why Morisuke sent him here away from Sakusa. The way he had worded it, made it seem like something secretive Sakusa shouldn't know about. Atsumu clenched his fist and felt the piece of paper crumpling in his grip, pinching his skin uncomfortably. 

Atsumu was left helpless. Looking down, he unfolded the piece of paper, reading it out quietly in the hopes of understanding what the reason for this happening was.

"Kuroo is waiting for you. Ask him about the 'nifty creatures'–", he read out, followed by a,"–huh. Who is Kuroo?" 

For a second the man had forgotten who Morisuke was referring to, but when the man he was looking for walked up to him, it hit Atsumu like a bunch of bricks. 

"Tetsurou!" 

"Hello, Atsumu. So we meet again. What can I do for ya?", asked the animagus. He walked past Atsumu into the library, while placing some books back where they belonged, a small stool with him for when he had to reach the highest shelf, which almost touched the ceiling.

"Uh–", Atsumu began, but stopped in his tracks when he finally had the chance to fully analyze the man for the first time. 

From head to toe, Tetsurou was suited in red and black garments. They were tight fitting and made his beastly features stand out. The fangs hidden away by his chapped lips were not directly intimidating, but didn't make him look like someone trustworthy either. In fact, if Atsumu had met Tetsurou under different circumstances, he would probably have never put his trust into him the way he undoubtedly had to in his current situation. His tail he used to gently push books back that almost fell out by themselves. The split end made everything double efficient, even if it was just very fluffy. Atsumu wondered what the split end on their tails was all about. 

Before he could ask, Tetsurou leaned forward. Atsumu exhaled a breath he suddenly realized he had been holding. The presence before him was so intense, he forgot Tetsurou was a friend, not a foe. All Atsumu could see was a wolf flaring its teeth nonetheless. 

"Uhm. Y–yeah, hi. Your uh– husband gave me this..", Atsumu said, handing Tetsurou the strip of paper. The man read over the words before clicking his tongue, nose scrunching up in disapproval.

"So he wants you to know, hm? I love him to bits, I adore him, really! He is my entire fucking world, but he is the biggest fucking idiot in this entire multiverse, too!" 

Atsumu blinked twice. "Multi–what now?" 

A heavy sigh left Tetsurou's chapped lips and he licked them in thought. Disgruntled, he pushed the black strands out of his eyes and turned around with purpose in his step. He mumbled under his breath, telling Atsumu to follow him into the depths of the Nekoma library, for his answer was hidden away in one of the dozens of books. 

When they got out of the first room which had been lit by the big windows on the sides, the doors closed by themselves, inching together until the last ray of sunshine was casted over his eye before it vanished. The next room was completely dark. Somehow Atsumu felt like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to do. And when Tetsurou lit a candle, Atsumu almost pissed himself in fear. 

Tetsurou was already ahead while hesitation made Atsumu stay glued at the door. He noticed after peeling his curious eyes off the door, Tetsurou wouldn't be waiting for him. He ran after the tall man, asking himself what was about to be revealed to him. Atsumu watched the man's ponytail bob when he walked. He made his own fire in his palm, magic feeling already a lot more like a practiced habit and soon to be second nature, after the practice with Kenma. 

They passed many books before arriving at their destination. Big and small ones, dusty and newer ones. Some of them appeared to be moving by themselves, their bookmarks flying in the windstill library. Atsumu watched as Tetsurou rubbed his chin, his look casted upwards in thought. 

"Get that one. The green, glowy one." 

It was too high for either of them to reach even with a stool. It was obvious to Atsumu that the section was not only off limits for most people, but this particular book was so high off, it didn't want to be found, much less read. But a ladder wasn't necessary. With a wave of his wrist the book levitated out of the shelf and into Atsumu's hand gently. 

"Read it carefully. Go back to Yakkun when you're done, alright?", said Tetsurou, ready to leave the boy to himself. But before he disappeared, Tetsurou glimpsed back at Atsumu over his shoulder. His eyes were a deep yellow and shined in a concerned kind of way, if Atsumu knew him well enough to place it.

"Take your time to really..–think… about it. And yourself", Tetsurou seemed to try and add onto that, but he closed his mouth again, nodding awkwardly,"Yeah." 

Confused by Tetsurou's weird behavior, Atsumu conjured up a ball of light and sent it to float just above his head for easy reading. He examined the book thoroughly after what had happened with the Nekoma one, setting it down on the table before reading the cover. Green tones clashed together and a few creatures unknown to Atsumu decorated the front in whites. 

"Shapeshifters, eh?", he read out dryly, opening the book carefully. As soon as he did, a dreadful feeling was creeping up his spine. A presence behind him made Atsumu turn his head. A gust of wind met him, extinguishing his light with ease. Rubbing his eyes after dust flew inside his them, Atsumu coughed. 

"Hello…? Who is there?"

A few seconds passed, but there was no response. 

"That's not funny, Tetsurou", Atsumu sighed, turning back to the book before him. With a wave of his hand, the blonde summoned up a faint light resembling a tiny sun, keeping it a little closer this time. Yellow light shone onto the pages, which Atsumu followed with his eyes, widening by the second. Every single page he turned made him more nauseous than the last. However, one page seemed to be missing, ripped out forcefully. It was the page that revealed how to survive an encounter with a shapeshifter. 

Whenever Atsumu had thought about the term 'Shapeshifting', nothing more than changing one's outward appearance came to mind. They would be able to look exactly like him, or a little different, like a twin. They would be able to make just a part of themselves different, while the rest would stay the same. Blue hair instead of white, brown eyes instead of green ones. However, Atsumu never heard about any useful information from these creatures, besides old fairy tales, be it at school or with his mother. 

Reading about them now in a book clearly handmade by some creature that knew what it was talking about, makes them seem like the most selfish and narcissistic beings in the universe. Atsumu was shocked to find out shapeshifters had the power to change into anything they wanted. 

_ Literally _ anything; life forms, objects, elements, diseases and many more. On top of that, they possess different abilities such as mind control, even if it was bound to strict rules. Not even magic would grant complete utter insight of every single thought going through someone's head, much less take control of other people's thoughts and actions and Atsumu couldn't help but remember Morisuke's words from before. 

The more he kept reading, the more Atsumu asked himself why Morisuke insisted he know all this and why Tetsurou would be against his husband's decision. Sure, it was good to know your enemy, but this was a well thought-through thing by Morisuke. 

With the book in hand Atsumu teleported himself back to the entrance of the library. Even though only roughly 9 days had passed, Atsumu was learning so fast and improving at an even higher speed. He let his eyes wander, looking for a familiar face. 

"Hey!"

Atsumu jumped out of his skin when Tetsurou appeared behind him, grabbing his shoulders and twirling to stand in front of him. 

"Where is Morisuke?", he asked, coughing as his voice got thinner by the syllable. 

'I-knew-this-was-a-bad-idea', was written all over the animagus' face and Tetsurou leaned into Atsumu's ear. 

"He's preparing lunch with the prince in the palace's kitchen." 

Atsumu was about to teleport himself away, his hand raised and ready to snap his fingers, when another thought came to him. 

urou, say. Aren't you, like, the king here? Do you not lead Nekoma?", Atsumu confessed his confusion. He had no other explanation for the way Nekoma was run. He and Morisuke were definitely in charge, being the oldest, more experienced Animagus around, not to mention Kai, who seemed to be the most mature.

"Oh, no! Nekomata is our leader. You haven't met him, since he is on an adventure in a different dimension. In his absence, Kai, Yaku and I are in charge, but we do not have a king or anything of that kinda nonsense. Though you could say Kenma is our pampered little prince." 

"Different dimension? I'm not sure I can follow but, uhm, let's talk about it some other time. I really need to find Morisuke." 

Tetsurou had no chance to further elaborate Nekoma's close connection to a different realm, because Atsumu teleported once again, but he figured it could wait. Until Amalia didn't give the word, there was nothing to worry. The young wizard was interested in this dimension and realms talk, but he currently had much bigger matters to worry about.    
  
  


*

It was warm in the kitchen. Steam was pooling at the ceiling, which made Morisuke as well as Sakusa take off layers of their garments, leaving them hanging over their hips. Their chests were bare, a little moist from the heat of the stove, but the top chef, Fukunaga, wasn't complaining. He couldn't care less. He was entertained by the fact Morisuke's shirt reached down to his knees, while Sakusa's was hanging way up, due to him being taller.

Both of them looked into the pot with boiling brew, but Sakusa had to make himself smaller to catch a glimpse of the liquid. It was not like Sakusa was too tall, as Morisuke would tell him dozens of times now already, just that most things were rather tiny, seeing as Morisuke had no problem standing next to the stove. Did Tetsurou have the same kind of complaints?

Next to the smaller one Sakusa appeared like a giant, a good two heads or more taller than the man beside him, but just as muscular, if not a little less. 

In between the two, sparks started flying and Atsumu appeared with a gasp, holding on to Sakusa's broad shoulders. The blonde took a fast, shaky breath before shouting out. 

"There you are! Mori! What– Why did you have me read this, what even  _ are _ these creatures? They seem so fucking dangerous, it's crazy!" 

Out of reflex, Morisuke turned into a cat, loudly hissing at Atsumu, his pupils nothing more than slits. His small paw was hitting the boy in protest, but it didn't really hurt a lot. Atsumu was rather amused by the sudden transformation, quietly biting his lip to avoid bursting out into laughter.

"What the fuck, Miya! Don't just appear out of nowhere, for Tetsu's sake! This is the second time today!" 

As quickly as he turned into a cat, he was back in his human form. This time, naked and standing on his clothes which were scattered on the floor. He stepped out of them, crouching to grab the black pieces of clothing. 

"Oh, shit sorry", said Atsumu, covering his and Sakusa's eyes,"But I only did this once today. And aren't you used to it? My mom teleports all the time!" 

With a frown Morisuke put his clothes back on, scoffing loudly. He got stuck for a second, impatiently pulling the fabric until it ripped a little when he heaved it over his head, leaving the man extremely annoyed. It took him one last pull and his head popped up under the cloth, hair messy.

"No, the first time today was this gigantic idiot next to me! Man, it's been twenty years since I last saw your mom, okay? You could be  _ my _ kid, for all you know?" 

When he was dressed again, he shot the two wizards a funny look, laughing quietly to himself as to why Sakusa wouldn't even protest or say a single word this whole instance. 

"Kiyoomi, you are so strange. I told you I'm not mad. What makes you think Atsumu would be? I don't get kids these days… Good thing I'm gay", he mumbled, crossing his arms and looking back into the pot that was emitting a delicious smell. 

Atsumu glanced at his soulmate with confusion written all over his face, but quickly retrieved his hand from Sakusa's eyes upon noticing how weird he must look for covering the eyes of someone who was legally blind. Atsumu let his own fully functional eyes wander over the others body. 

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt and– what is he– Morisuke what are you talking about? He can't teleport around when he hasn't seen the place before." 

The book in his hands completely forgotten, Atsumu took a defensive stance. Something was going on without his knowing and it made him feel useless and left out. Sakusa was blushing, looking everywhere but at Atsumu's eyes. Sweat was rolling down his torso, but before Atsumu could keep staring at it, he looked at Morisuke once again. 

"Tell me!" 

A pitiful expression from Morisuke was sent to Sakusa. There was an unspoken understanding between the two and Atsumu was absolutely sure he did not like it one bit. 

"Just tell me–"

Atsumu had tried to ask again, but Morisuke decided to come to the other boy's rescue. It felt a little selfish on his part, but there was no way around it. For now, at least.

"He can see!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :0000 What a shocker!! :00 Did any if u see it coming, be honest... 
> 
> Since I'm basically a toddler and can't wait to mess with all of you some more I'll probably update before staurday, but we'll see... it's getting,, wet and muddy :)
> 
> Till next time, Tetsu


	14. Oh Boy, That's Risky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From making out and finding out how beer is made to trying to get other animagus drunk with said beer before making out again, I have got everything covered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry christmas for those who celebrate!!! Have this chapter as a litle treat before it goes downhill :3  
> This is my favorite chapter of them all bc a lot of Sakuatsu so I hope y'all enjoy (while you still can)!!

_October 13th_

"He can see again! Isn't that right, Kiyoomi?", smiled Morisuke. Grabbing a wooden spoon he stirred the soup as Sakusa nearly choked on his own spit. He looked a little more surprised than he should have been, if Morisuke had not told the truth. 

"U–uhm! Uh, yeah! That's right, I feel a lot better! Seems like the dust from the falling stars is miracle stuff!", the prince grinned, but Atsumu wasn't buying it. The twitching in Sakusa's left eye was suspicious, but then again Atsumu had no idea what Sakusa's ticks and tells were. Was it the twitching eye? Would he tap his fingers nervously? The boy set it to himself to watch the other intently until he could tell each lie from the truth. 

"I see. What color is my gem?"

Expressionless, Atsumu was holding up the necklace by the smooth, green gemstone, changing the color with a new spell Kenma had given to him. When Sakusa glanced at it, the gem in Atsumu's grasp shimmered, going back to being green immediately.

"U–uhm", stammered Sakusa, quickly snatching the book and letting it fall into the pot," That's probably green, if I'm not mistaken." 

Morisuke and Atsumu froze. For a moment Sakusa thought he saw their eyeballs falling out of their heads. Morisuke for one took a few steps on the spot, waving his arms around before yelling. 

"Why… _WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"_

"I'M SORRY I PANICKED!", Sakusa shouted back at the small man. Next to them, Atsumu started laughing. He held his stomach, crouching over wheezing gleefully. 

"What do you mean you panicked!? Now I have to do it all over again, you imbecile!", yelled Morisuke. 

"I–I'm sorry–", said Sakusa, but he was torn away by Atsumu pulling on the back of his neck, before he could finish his sentence. 

Now that Atsumu knew his soulmate was able to see without any complaints, he wanted to ask him about it in private. He himself has had a feeling the whole time, but he was unsure of how to tell, since everyone around did believe him he couldn't see. 

As quickly as he could, Atsumu ran out of the room into the halls and teleported him and the prince to their own quarters. Fortunately, they landed on the bed and didn't hurt themselves because of Atsumu's magic like they had prior. It meant Atsumu was slowly improving.

Hair was blocking Sakusa's view. As he brushed it to the side, he felt Atsumu crawling closer to him, until their noses were touching. Sakusa stared at the man before him, eyes wide as he supported his weight on the prince's shoulders.

"You could see the whole time, aren't I right?", Atsumu adjusted his position, getting even closer, but why he did so, he didn't know. The feeling he got from overpowering the other was good. Leaning forward, he forced Sakusa to lay on his back. Atsumu's hands pinned the other down by his wrists. 

"I can tell if you lie." 

It surprised Atsumu when he heard a low whine from the other. He was so taken off guard, he loosened his grip on Sakusa, only for him to turn them around with one swift movement. 

"No." He grinned. "You can't even hold me down."

Now their roles were reversed. Every attempt at freeing himself was denied by the strength of his soulmate. Against his will, Atsumu felt himself grow hot and bothered. In the pit of his stomach, up to his chest and even his cheeks. He could feel it, he was flustered.

With all his might, he swallowed down the embarrassing sound he was about to make and scowled up at the prince. He spat out "I can't stand you." But his rosy cheeks made the other's grin only widen. 

"Now that I can see you openly, this makes everything _so_ much better…", Sakusa began, his voice dripping with something so dangerous it excited Atsumu, when he knew it shouldn't have. Sakusa opened his mouth to continue, but watched themselves be teleported to the training field by Atsumu.

Mud crashed all over the place, but the raining had subdued to only very light droplets. 

"Well, I for one don't appreciate being lied to. Why don't you just come clean, once and for all, princess?" 

Not missing his chance, Atsumu took the lead once more. His foot held down Sakusa's left wrist, almost cracking it in the process, while he held the other down with his hand, basically in a split.

Underneath him Sakusa grunted. His muscles still felt sore from training hours ago in this very field. Now doing whatever it was they did, Sakusa was sure he would feel it days after. 

"We _just_ got clean before. Why did you have to send us here?! Gods, I hate mud." 

Atsumu's face twisted when Sakusa avoided his question. Clicking his tongue he leaned in close, staring into green eyes. 

"You know", scoffed Atsumu," for a wizard, you don't use much magic, princess, do you?" 

Atsumu didn't understand why Sakusa just wouldn't teleport as much. Especially in their current situation teleportation would give him the upper hand and chance to change positions. 

However, all Sakusa did underneath the other was struggle. After a few tries of freeing himself, he retrieved his right hand. Instead of pulling out his wand, he grabbed Atsumu by his neck. It was no grip that was meant to kill his prey, it was more like a silent warning, a last chance.

Sakusa pulled him down. Their breaths mingled, turning into one. Atsumu's chest was heaving, desperately trying to get much needed air into his lungs. Sakusa's breath fell short as well. Before they knew it, their lips were touching. It was hot and soft, a little wet and dirty. Their grips on one another loosened, before they fastened again, but it felt entirely different. It was desperate, like they had been craving this all their lives, but it always had been just out of reach, teasing. 

Without noticing, the two wizards released a strong amount of magic, forming an invisible shield around them. It got quiet around them, all they could hear were pants and grunts from none other than their soulmate. It reminded of an immediate mechanism in response to their current situation of not wanting to be disturbed or stopped.

When they let go after a solid 4 minutes of tongues clashing and heavy breathing, Atsumu stared at his soulmate. His hair was all over the place, his chest bare with dirt everywhere. 

One thing was for sure, no matter who Sakusa really was, Atsumu found himself falling head over heels. Atsumu was screwed.

Atsumu had just kissed Sakusa. Or had Sakusa kissed him? Looking down at the prince, Atsumu was intrigued to do it again, no matter who started it. And again and again and again, until his lungs gave out.

The boys were pulled out of their little bubble, their shield bursting, by a voice calling in the distance. 

"Sakusa! Atsumu! There you are!", exclaimed Tetsurou, walking towards the two. "I was just looking for you! Enough making out. Come on, we need your help with today's dinner!" 

The dark haired man helped his guests up, looking at them rather funny. It was like he knew about everything that had just taken place and Atsumu's face had never been so red before. It resembled an open book, the expressions they were wearing. Shocked but happy, perplexed but amazed. 

"I heard there was some idiot who dropped a book into our food, so Morisuke is busy for the time being", Sakusa's cheeks bloomed pink, finally snapping out of it as Tetsurou made a dramatic pause before continuing to talk," So, that means beverages are our job today!" 

Atsumu got distracted, snickering behind his hand. The thick air was slowly dissolving into a lighter mood and Atsumu was thankful he didn't have to find an explanation for what had just occurred right away. He glanced at Sakusa, a way too handsome grin on his lips, he purred. "Yeah, what an idiot, indeed." 

It earned him Sakusa's elbow in his ribs, but it was definitely worth it. His smile was big when Atsumu laughed, poking fun at Sakusa, who tried to push the other away, fairly embarrassed. The atmosphere wasn't heavy anymore. No longer feeling any pressure on him, Atsumu moved to follow behind Kuroo. "Tell me more about this idiot, Tetsurou." 

"Yeah, sure! Yaku called him an 'Idiot giant', it was hilarious. Yaku looks super cute when he's mad, like a feral hamster!"

Sakusa was left rolling his eyes and crossing his arms in annoyance. He blew a stray hair out of his face, sighing before he followed behind Atsumu, while mumbling defense under his breath. "Maybe the idiot was panicking, okay? Geez." 

"So that was you?", Tetsurou asked amused, before waving his hand in his face,"Well, it doesn't really matter, because we gotta get going. Don't even bother changing anymore."

Walking in front, Tetsurou didn't look back to see if the other two were following. Atsumu quickly followed suit with Sakusa close behind him. The route Tetsurou took led them into the forest. At the meeting point to the outside, Fukunaga and Taketora sat waiting already. Fukunaga was crouching on his feet while Taketora played with his short hair.

"Going where exactly?", Atsumu questioned, greeting the two Animagus with a gentle touch of palms, the way everyone greeted each other in Nekoma, as they had learned on day one. Atsumu still didn't understand why they did it, but it made him think of cats rubbing their toe-beans together in greeting and settled on doing the same. Since they let him live amongst them, the least he could do is honor their traditions. 

While everyone else was still a bit cautious about Sakusa, Fukunaga and Taketora seemed to like him enough. They awaited his greetings, a big and a gentle smile. 

"We have to go get our grain and wheat and our grapes will arrive later from Shiratorizawa. Teleportation might be useful. It certainly would save us plenty of time. Then we have to restock on the alcohol and have a drinking feast with our neighbors today!" 

"I see", Atsumu said. "Morisuke told me you make all your beverages yourself? How so?" 

"It's simple, really. We press the grapes into juice, place said juice into barrels and then stir it everyday until it's ripe and got that wine taste."

"How about beer?" 

Tetsurou smiled. "Easy as well. All you gotta do is make wheat wet, roast it dry and remove the unwanted bits. Then we smash it to dust, dissolve in hot water and filter. With this, we get wort. Then we take the wort, add karahanaso and boil. After that, we let yeast do its job, let it ferment into alcohol and in the end you also get carbonation!"

While Tetsurou was explaining, Tora yanked the prince with him, blabbering his ears full about his absolute favorite people in the multiverse Fukunaga and Kenma.

"Kenma doesn't like me wandering off to hunt all by myself, but having him scold me while healing my wounds makes me real happy! That means he cares about me and Fukunaga!" 

Taketora was walking in the middle, his arms draped over his boyfriend and the prince. 

"Isn't that right, Sho?", Tora asked Fukunaga with a big smile. The boy smiled, blinking with both eyes. 

"I don't quite understand", Sakusa said. "So, you are Fukunaga's boyfriend. But Kenma is your boyfriend, as well. And then Fukunaga and Kenma are boyfriends, too?" 

Letting out a laugh that came right out of his honest soul, Taketora grinned. "That is correct! Aren't I the luckiest Animagus of all?" 

_That's not fair,_ Sakusa thought. He could never imagine sharing Atsumu with anyone and he looked back at him listening intently to every word Tetsurou said.

Tora pulled the prince closer by his neck, whispering quietly. It felt different from when Atsumu did it and Sakusa was able to concentrate on the words easily. 

"What is that between you and 'Tsumu? You are soulmates, right? You need to make a move, Sakusa!"

Oh, if Tora only knew..

Heat made its way into Sakusa's face. "No, no. I wouldn't– I couldn't!", he stammered, even though he would and could and had. Looking back at the blonde for another split second made him grow an even darker shade of red, when his gaze was reincorporated with a bashful smile.

The three of them kept walking in front, while Tetsurou explained to Atsumu how they made their own alcohol and traded it for different goods with their neighboring clans and tribes.

Atsumu's mind wandered off, wondering what they were talking about that made Sakusa blush the way he did. Only when Tetsurou mentioned something interesting to Atsumu did the boy concentrate on him again. 

"–so the foxes do all the work. In exchange for the rice from Akagi, we give them part of our alcohol and have feasts together every once in a while." 

As they went deeper into the forest, things got a little darker. The group would not have to worry about wild animals or entering anyone else's territories, they had their ways mapped out and we're sure of no inconveniences. Nekoma was skilled in avoiding unnecessary conflict as much as unnecessary movement, mostly thanks to Nekomata and now Kenma. Teleportation played well into their cards to get the job done even faster. 

"Who is Akagi?", Atsumu asked, running after the man through the bushes into the open meadow and fields of wheat. 

"Akagi is the temporary leader of Inarizaki, our fox allies. Well, technically they are Kitsune, but we simplified most species that change from animal to human to Animagus." 

Just by snapping his fingers, a big amount of the wheat disappeared and Atsumu huffed in concentration, watching Sakusa teleport, too. Maybe if they held hands, teleportation would go even smoother? But what did Atsumu know. There was no one to teach him how to be a good soulmate.

_Guess I have to figure this one out for myself._

"Why temporary?", questioned Atsumu, teleporting the next bunch. 

"Their leaders have been missing for quite some time. Ojiro and Shinsuke were the leaders and after their disappearance, someone had to step in." 

Atsumu frowned. "Missing?", he asked, sweating a little from the whole teleporting. "How long has it been?" 

"Hm", Tetsurou rubbed his chin. "Well, for them this is nothing, but roughly 20 years? Give or take one or two, I guess. Why?" 

Taking a deep breath Atsumu wiped the sweat and dirt from his face, looking down at his muddled marking. "I'll have a talk with Akagi later and find out." 

"Good luck with that, they are very secretive." 

Atsumu smirked. "We'll see about that." 

  
*  
  


"In my defense", Atsumu began, holding his hands up defensively,"I never thought Morisuke was _this insane_ of a drinker." 

Tetsurou snorted before scoffing soundly. "Didn't you see the first day when you arrived? I sat right by the both of you when he drowned his booze like it was milk." 

It was hours later. Arriving at Inarizaki had felt strangely intimate for Atsumu, though he couldn't put it into words. Atsumu and Tetsurou's gazes fell upon their neighbors, who were soundly conversing with their own tribe members at the long, long table. They had travelled across the asteria desert, in the opposite direction of Shiratorizawa, until Akagi and Gin had welcomed them at their borders. They, and probably everybody else, Atsumu assumed, had a magic barrier protecting their home. Entering Inarizaki had felt different from Nekoma.

Taking a load of their beverages to deliver, the two tribes had made it a tradition to drink together in memory of those they lost and those they pray for to live a life of prosperity and health. 

After what Morisuke and Tetsurou had told Atsumu about the Kitsune from Inarizaki, he had gotten suspicious, making him sneak into the library before their departure to get concrete information on them.

The only information he was able to acquire was an ancient scroll, fragile to the touch, that told Atsumu vague information on the creatures. Anything useful, he had summed up on a piece of paper for himself, as follows: 

_Kitsune– Inari's messengers: possess some kind of magic, fox animagus (?), farm rice, illusions or manifestations?, invisibility, wise → more tails → more power, dream visits, similarities to succubi and incubi?, Wise_

Atsumu's handwriting had always been a little messy to say the least. Even for him, it was hard to decipher sometimes, but right at that moment he was glad most creatures around him were drunk. 

It was dark at the long wooden benches they sat at outside, so none of them thought of him as suspicious for observing and writing. Torches lit everything they needed to get by the food and drinks and though it had started out cold, Atsumu now welcomed the fresh breeze on his hot, slightly dry cheeks, squeezed in-between Tetsurou and the temporary leader Akagi. 

Trying his best to analyze the kitsune, Atsumu scribbled away on his paper, until he had to flip it when space got too little.

One thing that struck Atsumu about the members of Inarizaki was how connected he felt to them. He had started out as a fox cub after all. 

Looking at their fangs gave him nostalgia about his own, which hadn't grown back as much as they should have. He noticed the color of their eyes was universally a light brown, the same way all of Nekoma's member's eyes had the same piercing yellow. 

Not even once, had Atsumu questioned his heritage, not until Morisuke led his attention to the fact of his unusual way of starting life. And if one was being honest, it's a pretty confusing concept. Where did they come from, why did they start off as wild animals, did the animals have anything to do with the future, was everyone different? Questions upon questions Atsumu had no answer to.

It gave him one other thought. Turning his attention from Akagi to Tetsurou, Atsumu skillfully ignored Sakusa's gazes from across the table. Now that he could openly see, Atsumu felt like there was nothing else he did. 

"Tetsurou, is being animagus something you're– gifted to do upon arriving?" 

"Arriving?", Tetsurou responded amusedly,"We get birthed. We call it the day of birth, or in short 'Birthday'. How is it for you again?" 

Atsumu leaned back in his seat in thought, Sakusa's eyes on his face making him itch, as he followed a shooting star with his own in the sky above. "When someone wants babies they just wish for them from the higher beings and spirits Emi and Sawa and then a small animal arrives at their home, but only if they are worthy. That's why we call it 'Day of arrival', rather than… whatever you called it." 

"I see", Tetsurou winced upon emptying his glass and slamming it back on the table. "Well, it takes some time, but you can become an animagus. Almost everyone has the needed gene to do so at this point." 

Nodding along, Atsumu ignored foreign words and waited for Tetsurou to elaborate. The fact that Kuroo revealed something rather big to him went unnoticed by him. The man cleaned his nails before continuing. "There was even a demon and non native one born that joined one of our neighboring tribes." 

"What's their name?" 

"His name is Akaashi Keiji. He was born from a succubi and a non native so his possibility to become anything but an incubi was extremely dire. Now he's an animagus, a really skilled one at that. Not many creatures know this, so keep it to yourself, but they have a little–" 

"Who is 'they'?", Atsumu interrupted. 

"Fukurodani's leader and Akaashi. Because of his heritage, Akaashi seems to have– um–… special desires to feed off, you know, sexual interaction and, Bokuto being Bokuto, helps him with that." 

It was easy to tell that Tetsurou's ability to hold his liquor paled in comparison to Morisuke, as he went about telling secrets. Both their cheeks, noses and ears were red and probably hot to the touch, Atsumu observed. Those were indeed interesting facts about demons he was eager to know more about, but this was hardly the time nor the information Atsumu was hoping to get. 

"I see", he said. He didn't actually care, taking a sip of the only beverage he was able to enjoy at least a little, when suddenly Sakusa spoke to Tetsurou over the commotion of all these drunk creatures. Atsumu spied from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't make out the words. Whispering into the man's ear, the prince had a smile on his face when Tetsurou agreed with displeasure.

Atsumu watched as Tetsurou rose from his seat and Sakusa sat down in his place. The wolf dragged his husband away to a different seat, ripping him away from Akagi and Gin, who were singing and rocking from left to right, their glasses raised up high.

When the blonde threw one leg over the bench he was seated on, Sakusa apparently saw this as an invitation and sat down in-between Atsumu's legs, leaning his back against the man's chest happily. He had invited himself, Atsumu left entirely unimportant in the matter.

"Why would you–", Atsumu began, addressing his violation of personal place and the fact that Tetsurou dragged Morisuke with him, when Atsumu obviously needed him to get Akagi drunk. He was stopped when Sakusa's eyes met his own and he mouthed "One.. two.. three–", pointing to Morisuke with his pointer. 

In the exact same second Morisuke ripped himself from his husband's grasp, yelling at him to kindly let him sit by his drinking buddies. Tetsurou frowned a little, but left the other to it. 

"Okay, I admit. That was pretty good of you. How'd you know what I was thinking?", Atsumu asked, looking down into Sakusa's smiling face. Without thinking, he reincorporated the smile. 

"I didn't." Sakusa's smile grew. "I just wanted to sit with you." 

Before, Atsumu had noticed the many moles scattered all over Sakusa's delicate skin. When he was this close however, with the prince's face lit up with the warm light of the torches, Atsumu spied tender freckles on his flushed face and constellations in his eyes. 

He found himself wanting to kiss the other, but when something fluffy grazed his cheek, the two soulmates shifted in their seats, looking for the origin. 

Behind Akagi, four massive tails waved around as he swayed from left to right, singing some drinking song unknown to Atsumu. "Woah", he gasped. "They really have more than one tail…"

"But he's in his human form. Why are his tails out?" 

Assuming that Kitsune worked the same way animagus did, the soulmates were left puzzled. But Kitsune were different from any other creatures that switched between human and animal, by not normally showing animalistic features in their human form too. In Nekoma, depending on how they felt, the animagus could choose to show their claws, fangs and tail as well as ears. Kitsune on the other hand had a history of mishaps, automatically trying to avoid the reveal of their sharp nails, fangs, tails or occasionally ears that appeared.

Quickly, Atsumu wrote the information down, while Sakusa climbed on his lap. Only when Atsumu was done, he noticed Sakusa's and his body being pressed together flushly. He felt the stiff, warm muscles Sakusa called his own and choked on a breath, coughing and accidentally rutting against the other.

"Woah", Sakusa laughed, handing Atsumu the next best glass that came in contact with his hand, when Atsumu didn't stop coughing. Still sitting in the eclipse wizard's lap, Sakusa held the beverage to his lips. Gulping it down, coughing into it and making the entire jug of beer spill all over their chests, Atsumu tried to catch his breath. His nose was churning, the bitter taste in his tongue unpleasant.

Sakusa shrieked in surprise as he felt the sticky substance spill from his chest to his pants, drenching him in the strong smelling liquid. It made his nose scrunch up in disgust and he let out a shuddered breath. 

"A–Ats–… ", Sakusa whispered against his forehead. "Atsumu. I need a shower right this instant or I puke my guts out." 

"If you puke, I will kill you", Atsumu said, grabbing the other by the underside of his thighs. "Akagi, a little help? We need to clean up and maybe a new change of clothes?" 

The man in question whipped around, his tails moving in alarm as he got back to his senses, after drinking the same amount of alcohol as Morisuke. "Oh! This happens all the time, follow me!!" 

Akagi stumbled over his own tails, but continued walking away from the tables. Atsumu, holding onto his soulmate, decided to follow with Sakusa in his hold.

Sakusa squirmed in Atsumu's hands, holding onto him in fear. " _What_ are you doing?!" His nails were digging into Atsumu's back and he hissed. 

"I'm going to have to clean you up, idiot. Stop scratching me right now or you can do it by yourself, fuck." 

"Fine!", Sakusa spat, easing his grip slightly. "But you scared me. Next time give me a warning!" 

" _You_ sat down on _my_ lap like it was a free real estate and told me to wash you!!" 

Akagi was looking back at the pair, eyebrows raised in wonder how these two could be soulmates. They were wiggling around, pulling and scratching at each other, rolling their eyes and shouting. The man had always believed they would be more– "Do you always bicker this much?" 

Sakusa and Atsumu stopped in their tracks. "Um– No, not really", Atsumu said sheepishly, loosening his grip on the inky locks. "Yeah, no, we get along great!", Sakusa did the same with the front of Atsumu's shirt. 

Akagi shrugged. "I always thought they'd always be like–", he slurred a little, trying not to trip,"–like Kita and Aran." 

Atsumu's attention was piqued and he squeezed the bottom of Sakusa's thighs, whispering a quiet _shhh_ into his ear. He almost laughed when Sakusa tensed up, keeping quiet upon request after their little quarrel just ticks before. 

"Good boy", Atsumu grunted as he adjusted the prince in his arms, wondering why he was even still carrying him, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. 

Sakusa, on the other hand, was becoming lightheaded at the thought of how much stronger Atsumu had gotten in such a short amount of time. Magic practice with Kenma and combat training with the kids and Morisuke made him a little sturdier, while Sakusa had tried to get out of these activities. Now he was regretting his decision.

"Who might they be, if you allow me to question you?" 

"Oh!", Akagi led them into a hot spring, checking to see if anything was amiss before letting them enter. He was too drunk to care about them taking their shoes off outside. "They were our leaders for the last centuries, but we were ambushed on a night just like this one…they have been imprisoned for twenty years." 

Atsumu set Sakusa down gently, undressing him like he did every other night before their bath, while he continued his conversation without hesitation. He had gotten used to this in the last few days after all, that he simply forgot Sakusa was able to do it by himself now.

"Can you perhaps tell me why you would think they got taken– I mean, why not just kill them? What do they have that convinces you they are alive?" 

Akagi turned around when he noticed them undressing, but he was a little too much of a pushover when drunk, to excuse himself. "The more tails we have, the more powerful we are. I got four, but Kita and Aran had seven each. The most we can have is nine, so they are _pretty_ powerful. No one in their right mind would kill them or be able to." 

Atsumu made a mental note of this. Before he knew it, Sakusa was sitting naked in front of him, looking up in the direction of Atsumu's face. He watched Sakusa's black locks fall into his face, hiding his eyes as Atsumu undressed himself, his mind wandering to a different scenario, but a similar situation. 

Shaking his head, he held Sakusa bridal style, setting them both down into the water. "So, what can they do that you don't?", Atsumu caught himself caressing his soulmate's cheek, when they settled in the water. There still were a few bruises and scratches on him, so Atsumu glid his fingers over it, healing the minor injuries easily. Practice really did make perfect. When the other noticed this he turned red, snapping Atsumu out of the tender touch. 

"They can turn invisible or into a large object, like a tree. Or the moon." 

Akagi's voice was a bit distant. He was getting a change of very traditional Inarizaki clothing as well as towels for his guests. While he did so, he was wondering if Morisuke would be okay with Gin, or rather, if Gin was able to handle the spirited Morisuke. With every passing second, the alcohol in his system lost its intensity and his mind cleared. Soon, he was sober. "Why'd ya ask?" 

"Just curious. If it was the shapeshifters, maybe we can save them. Your leaders, I mean." 

Akagi scoffed bitterly as he set the towels and garments down next to the water. He looked down on them, hiding his tails quietly. Then he got to his knees, pointing to Sakusa. "What's the deal with him?" 

Morisuke had pulled Akagi to the side for a little talk, before they had started their festivities. Akagi was enlightened about the circumstances, yet, he was baffled by the bold approach Nekoma had. It certainly was dangerous, not to mention unorthodox and not planned out entirely. But he was told as long as he didn't hate the creature, he'd be fine. Paired with Atsumu, the prince wasn't dangerous. And from what he saw, Sakusa wasn't a bad guy, at all. 

"Oh, you mean Sakusa? The prince is just a bit whiny, that's all." 

"Am not!", Sakusa protested, rubbing away the foul smell of the alcohol with a pout. 

Cocking his head to the side, Akagi wondered. _Hm_ , he thought. _Sakusa isn't a bad guy, so why…_

"Well, I'll leave you to it, then! Your clothes and towels are here and this spring is just for the two of you tonight. I'll be seeing ya in the morning, bye!", the kitsune waved them goodbye, leaving the boys unsupervised. Only because he trusted Morisuke, though.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Sakusa swam over to Atsumu. A small smirk was playing on his lips. "I can undress by myself now, you know." 

"SHUT–", Atsumu yelped. " _Shut up,_ I got used to it, okay!?" 

Sakusa bit his lips as he trapped Atsumu at one side of the spring, his eyes flaming and glittering. "It's alright, I know you like it." 

Atsumu had no chance to disagree when Sakusa's lips found his own effortlessly.

  
*  
  
  


"What!? I didn't know we were training for _that!"_ , Hinata loudly exclaimed. He pulled on Tsukishima's arm, trying to get the blonde's ear close to his mouth to ask what was going on. 

"Oops, looks like Zota didn't tell you. Oh well, now you know, so we might as well explain! Keiji!", from his seat at the long dinner table, Koutarou had a big smile on his face as he led the attention to his boyfriend. Keiji wiped his mouth, his breakfast for dinner eggs still lingering at his chin. With a handkerchief he quickly wiped it and cleared his throat to mask a burp, before he started talking. 

"Becoming an Animagus will give you great advantages in all aspects. Either fighting, traveling or just everyday lives are made easier. You would also gain the ability to read people and the environment better, but it is hard. So hard that if you work together, it makes for a great soulmate training exercise." 

Hinata shoved a long sandwich in his mouth and didn't so much as chew twice before swallowing. His entire face lit up like a christmas tree and he gasped, grabbing Tsukishima once more and shaking him violently.

"So what animal can I become?! Can I be uh– uh a cool crocodile or uh! Uh! How about a bison! Those are super cool!" 

Koutarou let out a big, hearty laugh, slapping Keijis thigh in the process and making him jump. Keiji squirmed under the touch and shot Koutarou a distressed look. 

"Oh, right. Sorry, Ji." 

He leaned down to place a chaste kiss where he just slapped and turned around to face Hinata before he laughed again, though it had lost its effect. Delighted about the naive boy beside him, Koutarou shot him a big grin. 

"You don't get to decide that! When you are born as one, that's just who you are forever! If you learn to become one, there is already an animal decided for you from the very start!" 

With the given information, Tsukki rattled his brain while picking at his food. He already knew what animal he would become and it was not that bad, but for Hinata, he had no idea. Probably something annoying. Whatever it was, he would most likely be disappointed. After what Tsukishima had seen, the animal each Animagus represented were animal embodiments of their human forms. Keiji looked mysterious and dangerous, as does the white Jaguar, but if you befriend or tame one, they are nothing but a kitty cat to you. 

"Ohh!! Ah–", Hinata sounded off. In his tone it was very clear that he didn't quite understand what Koutarou said, but he's got the spirit anyway. 

Next to them at the table were knights and guards sitting, eating and talking. Tsukishima had talked to a few of them and tried to find out about Animagus as much as he could. 

There had been Akinori Konoha, who's form was a blonde racoon. They had called him 'Jack of all trades, master of none' and it had been true, before his tragic death. Not only in his human form, sacrificing himself for his family, but also as the racoon he had been agile, fast and clever. Tsukishima's soon to be animal form could only dream of that. 

"Eat up, Hinata!! Training will continue to be hard, you'll need all your strength!" 

Hinata nodded eagerly and shoved spoonfuls of rice into his mouth. His soulmate beside himself leaned forward, looking at Bokuto intently. He looked past him a little.

"Excuse me, why can't we start the real training already? All you're making us do is run up hills and hold hands. Can't we just go to Nekoma and warn Atsumu already?", Tsukishima asked Bokuto politely, with a bitter undertone. He felt Keiji eyeing him and couldn't help but think it was in a judgemental manner. 

"Now now, kid. Don't rush it. Things like these take time. Besides, if you go down there and are right about what's going on… you don't stand a chance without powers", said Koutarou, his posture becoming a little more droopy. Keiji rubbed his thigh gently, trying to comfort the other. 

"It is very rude of you to ask us such questions. If you want to know so badly, I will tell you why you are just _holding hands_ ", Kejii burst out and stood up,"The reason is that if we just give you the power now, it will tear you _apart._ Transformation feels just like using a portal key and you might remember how that _felt–",_ flames of blue started to form around Keiji, hot and dangerous.

 _"Keiji–",_ Koutarou stopped him, placing his hands on the other's hips. Keiji blinked a few times, the flames distinguishing, before biting his lips and balling his fists. His scowl formed into a bashful frown. 

"You need to excuse us, we need to take care of something. You can go straight to bed after this. Goodnight", Koutarou said absentmindedly, without so much as looking at the two wizards. He was too concerned with Keiji's well-being. He grabbed his boyfriend, threw him over his shoulder and practically ran off.

Next to him, Hinata burped before turning to Tsukishima. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion and he looked around to find some answers. "What just happened?" 

It wasn't Tsukishima who had the answers, but Komi who laughed a little before standing up. His wild mix of hair was in his face and he pushed it to the side, showing off his brown eyes.

"Due to Keiji's heritage, he sometimes gets bursts of anger and power, but they found a way to deal with it. That's how you become strong together." 

Tsukishima sighed. He didn't know if he wanted to find out or if he already knew what they did to get Keiji back to normal. Would he have to do the same with Hinata? No, whatever Keiji's heritage was, it was probably nothing in comparison to Keiji's previous outburst.

He didn't listen as Hinata questioned the other man and sunk into his thoughts. Where could he find any information about Animagus? Was it really necessary for him to–

"–n then they fuck."

"Do you guys have a library?"


	15. How To Not Be Scared Desire It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to get interesting. Buckle up, kiddos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me for the cliffhanger that is about to hit you. Bls.

_October 27th_

"That cloud looks like you." 

"That's a flower." 

"Exactly", smiled Sakusa. 

Done with training for the day, the boys lay in the grass upon a hill, a few miles away from Nekoma. Butterflies flew over their heads, disappearing from view in the endless blue of the sky. They were watching the clouds pass by, talking about nothing and everything. 

"Can I be honest with you?", Sakusa asked all of a sudden, breaking a comfortable silence. It pulled Atsumu away from his thoughts of a green book and he rolled on his stomach, their arms touching just enough for it to not be weird. While Sakusa sighed at the warmth of the other's skin, Atsumu noticed just how cold he actually was and frowned.

"Course." 

It took Sakusa some time to think of what he was going to say. Arranging the words exhausted him. He knew what it was, but how to say it without breaking everything he worked so hard for seemed impossible. There is no excuse for what he did and all he could do was pray that they wouldn't ever leave Nekoma at all, that Atsumu never found out. Life there was good. He was free to do whatever he wanted, he had Atsumu and new friends. But what good does it do him when everything else is just waiting to pierce him with a sword in his back, just like he had done to Atsumu? The truth was… 

"I'm scared." 

Sakusa didn't once turn to look at the other man. His face was casted up at the endless blue of the sky. He wished it would just swallow him up and end his miserable life; to grant him it's color. But that is not how he was raised, not at all how he was born. None of this giving up nonsense was, but giving had never been more intriguing. 

Atsumu plugged some grass and let it scatter on Sakusa's forehead. It tickled the boy, but he kept his mouth shut. Carefully, he thought about those words. He worked to arrange the grass somehow and Sakusa almost thought he wouldn't answer at all. 

"What are you scared of?", he questioned a few moments later, cracking one eye closed. With one blade of grass Atsumu painted over Sakusa's features. He let it glide over his nose and his cheekbones, over his brows and his chin before stopping at his lips. He caught himself staring, waiting for him to elaborate. 

"I'm scared to lose everything I have, even though I'm not sure I've ever had anything at all…" 

Atsumu made a little sound and blew away the grass, making the prince's eyes flutter shut. When Sakusa opened his eyes all the way again, he saw Atsumu looking down at him. He couldn't read his expression at all and it freaked him out to no end. But he stayed calm; at least on the surface. He knew for a fact that Atsumu would never hurt him, not physically. Not like me meant it. 

"Atsumu. I'm scared." 

"Do you wanna know how to not be scared anymore?", the blonde asked him, mindlessly wrapping one of Sakusa's stray locks around his pinky. He pulled on it lightly, making Sakusa wince weakly. He nodded softly and watched as Atsumu sat on his legs and pulled him up into an awkward hug. They were facing each other and Sakusa had to painfully notice how beautiful Atsumu's eyes were.

Oh, how he wished to have this color.

Maybe he just felt this way because they were looking at him and no one else but him, but he knew he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. However, he convinced himself he would be content, even if the former theory wasn't the case. Or so he thought. 

"It's a lot harder than most people think, but first you have to remember why you are doing what you're doing." 

This already made Sakusa second guess. Was his drive worth it? Was acting out of spite worth doing when the reason he was doing it was vengeance? Is that even really what he was doing?

"Then you have to think about how to get it. There are many wrong ways to do this. For example, you don't have to do anything by yourself. Everyone has at least one friend that would like to help. And friends have friends that wanna help out, too." 

Friends, huh? Would his favorite royal advisor count as a friend? His cousin? 

"Another wrong way would be the one where you profit, but everyone around you gets hurt. The hardest thing to do, is to do the right thing. It's getting help, it's putting an effort, it's… well, it's not easy but in the end you will get to share your happiness. In the end, when you hurt all the others, they will not want to be with you anymore… and I think that hurts even more. When you fight for them, they will heal you again." 

"How do I know what's right?", Sakusa whisper-shouted. His voice was a little shaky. 

Atsumu chuckled. "I wish I knew. But I think you will have a feeling." 

While Atsumu thought of Hinata and their little fight he wished had never happened, all the wrongs he ever did crossed Sakusa's mind. There was no way out. Not anymore. He knew that and yet he was starting to second guess, trying to find a way to redeem himself before he was even done. He was doubting everything he ever held dear, all of his beliefs.

"I'm sorry, Atsumu." 

"What are you sorry for?", the wizard asked. He truly hadn't seen any of it coming at the time. 

Even if he had gone back in time, analyzing his each and every move, he wouldn't have seen it coming.

"For everything." 

"I–", Atsumu paled, all the color draining from his usual healthy complexion,"... I don't know what you're talking about, but you're freaking me out. Are you okay?" 

There was something about the look in Sakusa's green eyes that told Atsumu things were anything other than okay. Trembling hands reached out, but Sakusa grabbed them. The look he casted upon Atsumu practically tore him apart. 

"I can't talk to you right now. Please, don't– … I– I just wish that–... Arg!", Sakusa gripped his hair, turning and rolling on the grass before actually standing up. Almost, he didn't turn back to look at Atsumu. Immediate regret pierced through his chest as the face of sadness and confusion reincorporated his glace. Sakusa stomped away hoping he could just open up a black hole and jump right inside it. Luck wouldn't be on his side that day and for obvious reasons, Sakusa felt deserving of the added amount of heaviness in his heart. He felt it sink and soon enough, he felt like there was no heart beating in his chest at all. 

Atsumu didn't follow him when he teleported away. Aimlessly jogging for the last seven minutes, from the place he reappeared, he decided to call his dad telepathically. Atsumu hadn't followed him to see if he was alright. So it was okay. 

"Son, there you are. I told you to give me a ring when you arrive, it's been weeks!" 

Sakusa swallowed down the sigh that made its way up through his nostrils. "Sorry, dad…" 

"So, how is it coming along? Are you doing your job, is it working?", the man asked persistently.

"I, uhm. Yeah, it's great. It's perfect. I'm holding him off, he's never gonna come back." 

"And the other thing I asked you about?" 

Sakusa closed his eyes tightly. "Yes." That's right. 

"I killed his soulmate. He's powerless." 

*

Osamu was pacing like a caged tiger, slowly but surely going insane. If he didn't know any better, he would have said there was a trail of him where he had been walking in circles for the last days without a stop. 

"I know what we can do now." 

Suna was ripped out of his nap forcefully. His head hit the floor after it slipped off his hand and he groaned in pain, rubbing at his forehead. 

"Fuck– what?! Don't scare me like that I almost shit my pants", he said. Suna eyed his boyfriend expectantly, with a face that said 'If you wake me up, at least have a valid reason'.

They had been at it for several weeks, three to be exact, asking Zota questions upon questions before he had to leave the calls again, only to come back even more tired than before. Osamu had thought about it for a long time and maybe this was it. The only way the others would be able to get back inside. 

"So we can't teleport in or out, right?" 

Suna watched as his soulmate started pacing again, an Onigiri in his hand. He had tried to eat for hours, but the intense concentration he built up prevented him from eating. Not one bite taken out of the tasty rice ball, he debated in his mind. His hair was not only greasy but also in disarray and he stopped, looking at Suna once more. 

"Right.." 

"But not everything we have here, grows here! In other words, there are things that get special treatment! For example, we don't grow Bananas. They must get here through a hole in the portal, a closed off place where the others can get through, like dad said! We get shipments from Shiratori-whats their name and Inarizaki. If we could reach Fukurodani and tell Hinata and Tsukishima, they could get Tsumu in one of the wagons or whatever and smuggle them in." 

Before answering, Suna thought about it. He took a sip of his drink and mulled it over. 

"That sounds plausible", he agreed. "But why would someone build a wall only to make passages? Isn't that really fucking stupid? I've never seen any.." 

Osamu made a dramatic turn and grinned down at his boyfriend. Suna just rolled his eyes a little, smiling from where he was seated on the carpet. He would never admit it out loud, but this dramatic, adventurous side of Osamu was quite appealing. If he did tell him though, Suna knew for a fact Osamu would not stop getting into trouble.

"Easy. Dad's spell has doors, invisible ones, where only a few get permission to pass, kind of like a doorman. Furthermore! If you just have a wall, the people will decide where to break in by themselves, but if you create a single passage, the people are sure to use that way. Meaning, it will be heavily guarded. It already happened when my brother came here, so maybe we shouldn't use the other two entrances, since that's what they expect us to do. But then, how do we get in from somewhere else…?" 

With a thoughtful noise Suna rose up from the floor, gave Osamu a soft peck and pushed the entire Onigiri into his mouth, for him to figure out. The boy struggled at first, coughing as his eyes filled with tears, but Osamu chewed and swallowed happily nonetheless. They embraced each other, smiles on both of their faces as they squashed each other. 

"A little break, Onigiri man? You smell bad, a shower is on your to do list", Suna smiled lopsidedly.

"Yeah, good idea…" 

The gemstones hanging from their necklaces flared up and it was like both of them had an idea at the same time. They gasped, looking at one another. 

"Same hat!!"

The answer had been there all along, but they had been scared they couldn't pull it off. Now, after a long while of thinking, mulling over any possible route to take, this was probably their only hope. 

"Eclipse soulmate magic!"

*

"I am not doing this. Get away from me, you human sized cheese puff." 

The two boys were sitting opposite of each other. The bed underneath them was warm, bringing comfort to their exposed legs, since Fukurodani's understanding of night gowns were literal sleeping gowns. Hinata's reached all the way to his shins, but for Tsukishima the cloth stopped a little before reaching his knees. Even if the choice of clothing was questionable, Fukurodani didn't fail to make the best construction. Windows, so well made, they are mostly wind and sound proof. Despite that, Tsukishima shivered.

Once again, Hinata had this look on his face that drove Tsukishima insane. Up close, holding onto his soulmate, seeing wasn't as much of a problem as when he was all by himself. 

It was not the eye twitching that annoyed him, not the dumb voices he made, either. After some time of irritation, Hinata would get so intense, his entire body would vibrate to the point Tsukishima had to hold him down with force. Nevertheless, he was quiet during their exchange, which freaked Tsukishima out even more. 

An elongated sigh left the blond and his jaw tensed. Pain made his arms strain and tingle from the hold on his soulmate, in the effort to keep Hinata at an arm's length. 

"Have you ever even kissed anyone before? Are you perhaps–", Hinata gasped loudly,"… nervous?"

As he tried to make a big inhale to stop himself from stabbing Hinata, Tsukishima almost choked on his own spit, coughing into the crook of his arm. 

"Excuse– ah– ah– … P–pardon?!? How dare you ask me that, you sorry excuse for a tiny, fluffy dog?" 

Without missing a beat Tsukishima pushed the other off of him. It annoyed him even more that Hinata didn't even flinch and watched him from where he lay at his feet. 

"I asked if you ever kissed anyone in your life before." 

And frankly, Tsukishima had not a single clue how to answer this question, because 1. If he (theoretically) liked Hinata, he didn't want him to think he was a wimp who hadn't even had his first kiss and 2. It sounded like Hinata did kiss someone before and it made him jealous to an extent he wanted to lie about it. If he wasn't careful, Tsukishima ran the risk of embarrassing himself, since he had no idea if the peck Hinata gave him when they first met counted as a kiss or not. 

It didn't, did it? It had to be.

"Ah– I don't–… Well, have you?", Tsukishima asked after overcoming his tiny fit of stuttering. Maybe that would answer his own question, too. 

Hinata's response was a short nod and a smile that made Tsukishima's blood boil. At first Hinata wasn't sure the other had seen him. When he saw Tsukishima's eyebrows knit, he knew when it came to himself, Tsukishima was okay. 

All of a sudden the moon wizard wanted to know everything he had been avoiding to find out about Hinata, even at the cost of falling further. 

"Who was it? Do I know them?" 

"How are you supposed to know them, when we grew up on different sides of the barrier. Tsukki, don't be ridiculous", Hinata said while rolling onto his stomach, a gentle smile tugging at his lips. Leaning on his elbows, Hinata looked up at Tsukishima and found him to be tongue-tied. 

Scratching his head, Tsukishima avoided his eyes. "Uhm. Yeah, right. Well, tell me anyway." 

Hinata's grin widened. His brown eyes narrowed in suspicion as he leaned in closer. Grabbing onto Tsukishima's thighs, he pulled himself up so the other had no choice but to maintain eye contact, if it could have been called such. "Are you– are you okay? It's fine, I'll tell you. It was Atsumu, okay? He wanted to know what it's like so I kissed him, no big deal", said the wizard. "We quickly noticed there's nothing more between us than friendship."

Tsukishima felt his face twist in disgust. "The– the blonde one? Your sun wizard friend? After he was such a jerk to you?" 

"Actually, he's not the one who–", Hinata tried to interfere, but Tsukishima didn't pay him any mind. 

"So do you, like, what, like blonde guys? Because, I'm right here you know. I'm–" 

When Hinata held his breath, a few things cleared up in Tsukishima's mind. Everything would be fine, after he dug a hole, crawled inside and buried himself. It was what he wished he could do before those big doe eyes stared right into his soul. 

He felt him, coming closer, staring at his lips and breathing against them as he talked. He knew if with Hinata close to him, touching, Tsukishima had no problem seeing and it had to mean something. More than seeing with his eyes, he was able to see with his entire body when Hinata touched him. He could sense it.

"So, why won't you kiss me, then?" 

Well played, Hinata. Well played.

Tsukishima buried his face in his hands, a lethal attempt at hiding his embarrassment. "Because I don't– I never– I haven't kissed anyone", he mumbled under his breath, hoping Hinata did not hear any word of it. Unfortunately, Hinata's hearing was more advanced than Tsukishima wanted to give him credit for. 

"Tsukki. That's totally fine, it's okay, alright? I just–", the redhead began. He let out a dramatic sigh, chewing his lips. 

"What?" 

"It's just– I wanna go see Atsumu and apologize to him. I want to warn him and be able to protect him, because I love him. He is my best friend and I hurt him and I feel like– just– just awful. But I– I really like you, Tsukki. Actually, I think it was love at first sight and I really don't wanna rush you into anything, but we are– soulmates. So– let me kiss your stupid face so I can tell my best friend to be careful, so I can help him– and apologize." 

In the middle of the sentence Hinata had run out of air and made a sharp intake of breath and Tsukishima had the audacity to laugh at him. He wiped away an imaginary tear from laughing so hard and leaned in closer. "You think I have a stupid face?" 

"I puke my feelings out to you, basically tell you that I love you and the only thing you care about is me saying that you have a stupid face?" 

Tsukishima chuckled. "Well, I can't see it, so do I really look stupid?" 

From one moment to the next, the tension in the air completely dissolved and Hinata wheezed, holding back a fit of chuckles. Even Tsukishima let out a small "Pfft" and smiled. 

Quickly, he realized that the past didn't matter and he was lucky enough to have his soulmate right by his side. 

"Actually, yeah. I think you're just kind of unlucky for falling in love with a stupid-faced jerk like me", teased Tsukishima. He took great pleasure in the offended noise Hinata was making and the way he opened and closed his mouth over and over again, hearing the smacking of his lips. 

"Whaaaaat? You are not a jerk. Well, actually– wait, yeah you are a jerk. But do you wanna hear a secret?", Hinata leaned in. His hand slid from Tsukishima's knee, up to his hip and further until it found its way to his neck. His hands met in Tsukishima's hair and he gently pulled the other in. 

"You are the only jerk I want", Hinata whispered. Tsukishima met him halfway until their lips touched. It wasn't a deep kiss. It felt sweet, like the first time the two of them had felt the cool drops of rain on their skin in the forest on their second week of training.

The next thing that left Tsukishima's lips was a dreamy sigh. Hinata giggled upon seeing his droopy eyes and rosy cheeks. 

"You like my kiss, jerk face?" 

"Hey, that's mister jerkface to you... Now kiss me again." 

*

_November 4th_

Before the first full moon's night at nekoma, a whole month of housing in a foreign place, Sakusa and Atsumu finally got along. 

It was not the traditional type of getting along or the type Morisuke expected from them. 

The fight they had on the meadow was forgotten, more urgent matters needing attending. Atsumu had to swallow his pride and let his feelings loose, or even better, push them down while he pretended everything was alright. Even though it wasn't, not at all. 

Sitting across the long table at dinner, their hands would meet underneath the wood, hidden away from everyone else's sharp eyes. Soft exchanges of intimacy during bath-time. Forced but wanted, but oh so confusing, gentle touches and the enjoyment of the others mere presence. At night, they would huddle together, even when it was too warm. The start of winter was a great excuse to cuddle in the dark. 

On the other hand, training had become most delightful for the young prince. Mostly, he enjoyed seeing Atsumu, who wasn't the best at combat, struggle to hold the candle against himself. Each and every time, Sakusa would come out on top and grin down at Atsumu and the blonde boy would flush and stammer, feeling something he had tried to deny for a long while, even if it benefitted him. 

It was getting so ridiculously intense that he no longer had the strength to hold himself back, the temptation at his fingertips too high, too strong to let it go to waste, while still pretending it was no big deal. 

But now, by the time he started opening up despite his insight, Sakusa became the one to close himself off. 

He would exchange seats with either Kenma or Kai, much rather sitting between Fukunaga and Yamamoto or all the younglings, instead of Atsumu. When he saw Atsumu getting ready to take a bath, he would busy himself on purpose, so they wouldn't have to go together. Even at night he would turn his back to Atsumu before falling asleep. But it wasn't like they fought. No, that meant they would have needed to talk, and Sakusa was avoiding this as best as possible. It was as if everything was completely fine. As if Sakusa was just wasting time.

It made interactions with anyone quite unpleasant. Having to apologise for Sakusa's rudeness, telling them that "Yes, we are soulmates" but "No, we aren't currently talking to each other." It humiliated Atsumu greatly.

This day was no different. 

Both Sakusa and Atsumu had been assigned to help Taketora and Fukunaga with the hunt once again. Though they had been more than successful, Sakusa refused to exchange a single word with the young eclipse wizard. 

Now, sitting alone in the washrooms as he tried to wash the dried pig blood off him, sat Atsumu, alone in this room for one too many times in a month. Never before had he felt this lonely. It was as though he was being eaten up alive from the inside and each breath he took was another bite taken at his sanity. 

"Mom… first you get kidnapped, now the only person who can help me be stronger won't even talk to me. Does he want to keep me from you? Is that what he wants?" 

After glaring at it, Atsumu slapped the surface of the water he was currently soaking in, his reflection blurring. Relaxing his muscles after the tiresome hunt, but unable to release any tension whatsoever, he sighed. Atsumu was mad. Maybe he was just confused. He was so engrossed in his conversation with himself, he didn't notice a figure had entered the room. 

"That is not my intention." Sakusa didn't so much as take a look at him when he said it, closing the door behind him quietly.

Alarmed, Atsumu shot up standing, before he bashfully sat down once more. 

"You… talked to me again…" 

He thought he had heard the prince click his tongue, in a way that showed he was almost at his limit; as if Sakusa had intentionally avoided speaking with him. A part of him already knew, but this proof hurt him.

Atsumu eyed his soulmate as he went on about taking off his blood dirtied clothes. Sakusa had been exceptional at locating animals in the thicket of the forest behind Nekoma during the hunt, though he wasn't sure how he did it. Once completely naked, the man walked to the showers, starting the water before cleaning himself, without responding to Atsumu. 

He was angered, but more than that he was sad. Atsumu crossed his arms, sinking deeper into the water until only his angry eyes were above the surface. The arch in his brow eased up after a short moment and he straightened his spine, turning to catch a glimpse of Sakusa with sadness in his eyes. He thought about speaking up, but decided against it for the first second. However, he changed his mind quite fast. 

"Sakusa, can I ask you a question?" 

Taking the silence as a yes, the boy looked at the dirty water before him, flicking a petal away, as he continued. 

"Imagine you live a life full of lies. Then your mother, the only person you have left, is taken from you and you can't even contact her, not knowing if she is alive or not. What… would you do?" 

Sakusa was about to say that it is what he's doing, even though he didn't know what exactly it would be called.

It became quiet, the sound of the water stopping made Atsumu look up. He didn't expect Sakusa to look at him with a pained expression, but he didn't expect for him to force himself on Atsumu, either. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha hi :)   
> See you next time what will happen Haha   
> Tetsu :)

**Author's Note:**

> This was the prologue! I'll be dropping the first chapter next week, until then!! Y'alls Tetsu :3


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